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ADVENTURES 
ON THE HIGH MOUNTAINS 



*s* 



A Terrific Storm in the Andes 

Near the summit the storm redoubled in fury. The whole party dismounted, but 
the clothes of several were blown to atoms, and a mule was forced right over the 
precipice. 



ADVENTURES 



ON THE 



HIGH MOUNTAINS 



ROMANTIC INCIDENTS &f PERILS 

OF TRAVEL, SPORT, AND EXPLORATION 

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD 



BY 

RICHARD STEAD, B.A., F.R.Hist.S. 



AUTHOR OF 



ADVENTURES ON THE GREAT RIVERS," " WILL OP THE DALES. " 



WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS 



PHILADELPHIA 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 

LONDON: SEELEY & CO. LIMITED 

1908 



tf* 












PREFACE 

It is a curious fact that until two or three generations ago 
men did not see beauty in mountain scenery. To them 
the mountains were always forbidding, full of terror, 
awful, never alluring or fascinating. Towering peaks, 
rugged glaciers, lofty precipices, dark ravines, stupendous 
crags were things to shudder at and avoid. 

It is sometimes said that the mountains have lost their 
terrors, and certainly men seek them in our day from pure 
love of them, undeterred by the dangers and difficulties 
which must still be encountered by those who would scale 
their heights, or penetrate into their recesses. The exploits 
of Alpine climbers are wonderful for the enthusiasm and 
the daring which they display ; and the achievements of 
others who have braved the same perils in pursuit of 
science or commerce show a not less adventurous spirit. 
Of ventures on the high mountains, therefore, the records 
of travel are full, and the avalanche, the steep and slippery 
ice-slope, the storm, the exposure to extreme cold, to 
fatigue, to hunger, to attacks from wild beasts or still 
wilder men — these and a hundred other forms of danger 

vii 



PREFACE 

will still attract, and not deter, those in whose hearts the 
spirit of adventure stirs. 

The compiler desires to offer his grateful thanks to the 
various authors and publishers who have kindly permitted 
him to quote from their works. Full acknowledgment is 
made in each case at the end of the chapter concerned. 



« 



Vill 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. NAPOLEON ON THE GREAT ST. BERNARD - 13 

II. AMONG THE MOUNTAINS OF ABYSSINIA - - 26 

III. ON THE WAY TO SRINAGAR - - - 39 

IV. A SOJOURN IN SOCOTRA - - - - 50 
V. A LADY'S ADVENTURES IN MEXICO - - 60 

VI. ALBANIAN MOUNTAINEERS - - 72 
VII. THE ROBBER REGION OF THE MEXICAN MOUN- 
TAINS ------ 83 

VIII. BIG GAME IN THE CASHAN MOUNTAINS - - 96 

IX. WITH GALTON IN DAMARALAND - - - 108 

X. THE WILD HILL TRIBES OF NORTH AFRICA - 120 

XI. IN THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS - - - 132 

XII. SPORT BEYOND THE SASKATCHEWAN - - 143 

XIII. ADVENTURES IN THE HIMALAYAS - - 155 

XIV. SYRIAN MOUNTAINS AND SYRIAN ROBBERS - 167 
XV. A NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE BRISTENSTOCK - 178 

XVI. PEAKS, GEYSERS, AND VOLCANOES - 190 

XVII. WITH TYNDALL ON THE WEISSHORN - - 202 

XVIII. CROSSING THE ANDES IN WINTER - - 213 

XIX. IN KAFFIR LAND- .... 225 

XX. A TRAGEDY ON THE MATTERHORN - - 237 

XXI. SOLDIERING AND SPORT IN THE ROCKIES - 247 

ix 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

xxii. redskins on the mountains of new mexico 260 

xxiii. Vesuvius in 1872 - - - - 271 

xxiv. on the mountains of tibet - - - 280 

XXV. THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT TARAWERA - - 292 

XXVI. AN ASCENT OF ACONCAGUA - - - 303 

XXVII. THE ERUPTION OF MONT PELEE - - - 318 



frontispiece 


to face p. 


16' 


)j 


48 ^ 


?) 


78' 


;j 


90 - 


5? 


100' 


33 


150 


33 


164 / 


33 


174 y 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

A TERRIFIC STORM IN THE ANDES (see p. 18) 

NAPOLEON'S ARMY CROSSING THE ALPS 

A NOVEL METHOD OF KILLING A BEAR 

AWKWARD ALLIES - 

CAUGHT IN A TRAP - 

AN UNWELCOME INTRUDER - 

A DANGEROUS MOMENT 

A DANGEROUS JUMP FOR A HEAVY MAN 

A DARING FEAT - - - 

AN ORIGINAL WAY OF COOKING A MEAL - „ 196 

CROSSING THE KNIFE-EDGE DURING THE 

WEISSHORN ASCENT „ 206 

A DANGEROUS RACE „ 232 • 

ARRIVAL ON THE FIRST PEAK OF THE SUMMIT 

OF MONT BLANC „ 238 

A TRAGEDY OF THE MATTERHORN - - „ 242 

AWKWARD AND UNEXPECTED OPPONENTS - „ 284 . 

A TERRIBLE VOLCANIC EXPLOSION, MONT 

PELEE --_--„ 322 - 



XI 



ADVENTURES 
ON THE HIGH MOUNTAINS 

CHAPTER I 

NAPOLEON ON THE GREAT ST. BERNARD 

Napoleon prepares to invade Italy — Four Alpine passes — Main body 
of forty thousand men to take the Pass of St. Bernard — Stores 
and ammunition sent on in vast quantities — A start from 
St. Pierre — Napoleon himself remains at Martigny — Heavy toil 
up to St. Bernard Hospice — Dangerous work for the artillery — 
Guns encased in split fir-trees — Refreshments at the hospice — 
A hundred peasants to each gun — Peasants, exhausted, run away 
— Mules give out — Soldiers harness themselves to their guns — 
A night with the ordnance on the open snow field — The fort of 
Bard in the valley below — A formidable obstacle — Unsuccessful 
assaults — Messengers sent back to Bonaparte — He hastens over 
the mountains to Bard — Precipitous track over Albaredo moun- 
tain, above the fort, repaired and improved — Commander of 
Bard refuses to surrender — Guns on the heights above — An 
escalade attempted — Gunners uselessly sacrificed — Light-balls 
used by the Austrians in the fort — A straw-covered road — 
Success — March down the valley — Outlet from the Alps 
defended by Austrians — The Chiusella stream — Austrians dis- 
lodged — A stupendous enterprise ends with full and marvellous 
success. 

Amongst the many recorded adventures on great moun- 
tains, few excel in thrilling interest those connected with 
military exploits, whether those exploits be glorious and 

13 



FOUR ALPINE PASSES 

successful, like those of Hannibal in ancient, and those of 
Wolfe in more modern times ; or whether they be such as 
the melancholy and disastrous retreat from Cabul, in those 
terrible early days of the year 1842. And perhaps no 
story of them all is more marvellous than that of 
Napoleon's passage of the Alps, when he led an army 
across the highest mountains in our quarter of the globe 
— a stupendous enterprise, perhaps unrivalled in the 
history of the world. 

It was in the May of 1800 that Bonaparte prepared to 
lead his troops across this almost impassable barrier into 
the plains of Italy, where, near Turin, lay encamped his 
enemies, the Austrians. As every one knows, the vast 
range of the Alps lies between France and Italy, with its 
towering peaks, its ice and snow, its frightful passes, its 
rocks and precipices, its avalanches, its thousand and one 
dangers. The notion of leading a great body of men, 
with all their stores, their food, their ammunition, their 
horses — with the necessary guns, tents, pontoons, and 
other implements, across the tremendous Alpine barrier 
could enter the brain of none save a madman — or a 
genius. 

There were four passes available for the army, and of 
these that of St. Gothard was reserved for troops coming 
from Germany under General Moncey. There remained 
three — the passes of the Simplon, the Great St. Bernard, 
and Mont Cenis. None of these had roads over them, as in 
our days. Napoleon chose for the main body of his army 
the middle route — that over the Great St. Bernard Pass, 
because the Simplon entailed a much longer march, and 
that by Mont Cenis would have led the troops right into 

14 



OPERATIONS ON THE MOUNTAINS 

the jaws of the Austrian force before Turin. So through 
this central pass was to travel a force numbering thirty- 
five thousand infantry and artillery, and five thousand 
cavalry, or forty thousand men in all. Smaller divisions 
of four or five thousand were sent to occupy the other 
passes, with orders to rejoin the main army in the plains 
of Lombardy. If all went well, there would in the course 
of a week or two be massed in Italy an army of no less 
than sixty-five thousand men, while Napoleon would hold 
all the passes of the Alps, so that, in case of defeat, he 
would have several lines of retreat open to him. 

Leaving untold the story of his earlier marches from 
Lausanne to Villeneuve, at the head of the Lake of 
Geneva, and thence to Martigny and St. Pierre, we may 
pass on at once to the operations on the mountains them- 
selves. "At St. Pierre the troops began to ascend by 
paths, covered with snow and bordered by precipices, 
scarcely more than two or three feet wide, exposed in 
noonday heat to the fall of frightful avalanches.'' 1 In all 
there were fully thirty miles of mountain to be traversed, 
by passes with nothing like a road, ascending to heights 
of many thousand feet. Over all this everything had to 
be carried that was necessary for a numerous army and a 
campaign on a vast scale. 

The preliminary work was in itself enormous. Immense 
stores of food for man and beast had to be sent on in 
advance ; all the mules the country could supply had to 
be brought up ; workmen in great gangs had to be 
engaged. Further, guns had to be dismounted and sent 
on separately on sledges with low wheels, the carriages 
themselves being taken to pieces and placed on the backs 

15 



NAPOLEON AT MARTIGNY 

of mules. Ammunition had to be packed in boxes for 
conveyance in the same manner, and so with various other 
stores, A veritable army of workmen carried out all this 
work on the northern side of the Alps, while a similar 
body of craftsmen pushed on over the mountains to be 
ready to put the guns together and to do similar work 
when the worst of the defiles should have been passed. 
Napoleon neglected nothing; even saddlers' shops were 
fitted up at intervals, so that any repairs needed could be 
done at once on the march. 

The great General himself remained at Martigny to 
see to the dispatch of the stores and the separate army 
divisions, while General Lannes went on with a strong 
advance-guard to receive the rest as they arrived. The 
start was made on the 15th of May soon after one in the 
morning, in order that good progress might be made 
before the heat of the sun should bring down avalanches 
of ice and snow upon the troops toiling through those 
wild and dangerous gorges. The men were in the highest 
spirits, though they were heavily laden, having to carry 
their supply of biscuit for several days, as well as a stock 
of cartridges. Up the toilsome ascents they climbed cheer- 
fully, and with many a burst of song; they threaded the 
wild ravines, they stepped cautiously but confidently along 
the narrow ledges, they risked the falls of snow or rocks. 
It was heavy work for the infantry, but for the cavalry it 
was a far more serious affair. On an upward slope progress 
was fairly safe, if slow, but on the descents the injn^had 
to go in front and lead their horses. So narro^Rspften 
were the ledges on which they walked, that if one of the 
animals slipped, there was great danger of his dragging 

16 




Napoleon's Army crossing the Alps 



AT THE ST. BERNARD HOSPICE 

his master with him, down to the frightful depths beneath. 
A few poor fellows perished in this way, but on the whole 
no great number of such accidents occurred. 

The first stage of the journey, up to the St. Bernard 
Hospice, was completed in eight hours from the start. 
There, by previous arrangement with the monks, the 
soldiers experienced a pleasant surprise, provided for them 
by the care and forethought of their Commander-in-Chief. 
Tables had been spread in readiness, with huge supplies of 
food and drink. Every man halted for a few minutes, and 
received a ration of bread, cheese, and wine. Lannes and 
his men then passed on in the best of humours down the 
descent to St. Remy. There they encamped, to receive 
the other divisions of the army as they came along. So 
far everything had gone splendidly. 

In similar fashion, each day saw the passing over of an 
army division up to the hospice, every man receiving from 
the monks his dole of bread, cheese, and wine, and down 
to St. Remy. Of course, several days were spent on this 
work, Bonaparte superintending the start from Martigny ; 
and those who had successfully made the passage to 
St. Remy were not idle. Every day vast quantities of 
materiel were brought to the spot, and much unpacking, 
much putting together, much rearranging had to be done. 
The artillery gave by far the most trouble, and involved 
most risk to the men. The gun-carriages, indeed, as has 
been said before, were got over the pass without so much 
difficulty, though the number of mules available fell far 
short of what was required ; but in the case of the guns 
themselves the trouble was great. They had, in the first 
instance, been mounted on low-wheeled sledges ; but it 

17 B 



CARRIAGE OF THE GUNS 

was soon found that there were many parts of the route 
where the sledges could not be used. 

Then some one hit upon another plan. The trunk of 
a fir-tree was split along its length, and the two halves 
hollowed out ; between these the gun was tightly bound. 
In this way it was possible to draw the pieces along the 
ravines without injury. So long as they were ascending, 
the men in charge of the cannon got on well enough ; but 
each descent was attended with great risk. The pieces 
could be kept on the track only by sheer strength of arm. 
The danger of having the gun fall over the precipice, and 
drag with it men and beasts, was often very great. To 
make matters worse, both mules and muleteers became 
exhausted after a few days of this heavy and dangerous 
work. It was now necessary to try other means. The 
peasantry of the district were offered a thousand francs for 
every gun they safely conveyed over the pass, and hundreds 
of men lent their help on these terms. Every gun required 
a hundred men to drag it along, and two days to get it to 
its destination — one day in making the ascent to the hospice, 
the other in getting down to St. Remy. No farther proof 
of the arduous and hazardous nature of the task is needed 
than this, that the peasants at length struck work and dis- 
appeared, though still larger offers of pay were made by the 
French Generals. Officers went in search of the runaways, I 
but in vain ; no gain would tempt the country-folk to 
resume their task. 

It requires no great effort of imagination to picture the U 
scene. Men and beasts exhausted, no more to be had ; 
heavy guns left stranded at all points of the route, often 
amidst wastes of ice and snow. Yet without these guns it 

18 



A LAMENTABLE CONDITION 

was impossible for the army to venture down into the 
plains below, for there lay the enemy in all his strength. 
There was but one way out of the difficulty — to beg the 
soldiers themselves to drag along the fallen cannon. Few 
leaders could have called forth from his men such signal 
devotion ; but the leader of the Frenchmen was Napoleon 
Bonaparte. With such a General and such men nothing 
was impossible. Harnessing themselves to the guns, in 
gangs of a hundred, the soldiers dragged along their heavy 
loads to the sound of inspiriting music, especially in the 
more difficult places. As an additional incentive, the 
money the peasants had refused to earn was promised to 
the soldiers ; but they would have none of it, saying that 
it was the duty of the troops to save their guns. With 
what worship must the First Consul have been regarded 
by his army ! It is said that certain of the soldiers, 
finding themselves high up on the mountain when night 
came on, chose to endure all the rigours of those ice-bound 
elevations rather than desert their guns, even till morning. 
There is a branch of the Po, called the Dora Baltea, 
which rises high among the Alps, and along its course the 
French troops passed presently on their way down to the 
Italian plains. Much of the valley of the Dora Baltea is 
but a cleft in the mountains, bounded on either hand 
by towering heights, most of them quite inaccessible. In 
one part of the valley a huge rock has at some time fallen 
from the mountain above, almost blocking up the passage. 
The river runs on one side of this rock and the road on the 
other. For a short distance the road is lined with houses, 
forming the town of Bard. The little place was dominated 
by a fort, occupied by the Austrians, and, though not strong 

19 B 2 



THE LEADER UNDAUNTED 

in itself, it was splendidly situated for defensive operations. 
To pass this fort on their way down into Piedmont was 
soon seen by the French to be almost an impossibility. In 
truth, several of the Generals pronounced the passage to 
be quite impracticable. Here, then, was an unlooked-for 
check : the French army had, with untold labour and risk, 
passed over the lofty and savage mountains only to be 
stopped by an insignificant fort like this ! It seemed all 
too ridiculous at first sight ; but the more the problem 
was confronted, the more insoluble did it appear. In vain 
Lannes, never a man to be easily daunted, sent his com- 
panies of grenadiers into the town ; the fort swept the 
street with its fire. Other Generals were sent for, but all 
agreed that the place was impregnable. At last it was 
necessary to dispatch messengers to the Commander himself, 
who had not yet crossed the pass. 

The news that the farther progress of his army was 
impossible, and that it was absolutely necessary to bring 
back all his men and munitions over that tremendous j 
range, was at first staggering to Bonaparte. But he had 
not brought his army over one of the highest ranges in the 
World to be stopped by a little hill fortress. 

" They will take the fort by a bold dash,'" he ordered ; 
" or if it is not taken, they will turn it.' 1 

He further directed that if the artillery could not be I 
got over, the troops should scale the heights above the \ 
Rock of Bard, and proceed without the guns. The French, ( 
he said, were both sufficiently brave and sufficiently 
numerous to fall upon the Austrian artillery and supply , 
themselves with guns. There spoke a military leader of' 
the first rank. 

20 



THOUGHTFULNESS OF NAPOLEON 

Bonaparte studied his maps assiduously, and messengers 
were sent flying about the country to the Generals in 
command of the different divisions of his army. But he 
did more : presently he was crossing the Alps himself. 
The prevalent notion that he careered across the Alpine 
snows on a fiery white charger has no warrant — in fact, the 
Consul rode a mule. On the way he entered freely into 
conversation with his humble mule-driver, drawing from 
the man the story of his life. It is strange that the 
famous military leader should have had room in his 
thoughts for such matters at a time when he must have 
been full of anxiety lest this expedition — one of the 
greatest the world had ever seen — should come to utter 
failure. It is worth recording, to the credit of a man in 
whose character there was only too much that was blame- 
worthy, that he provided for the poor mule-driver, giving 
him a little farm, and thus enabling him to marry the girl 
of his choice and settle down in the world. Nor did 
Bonaparte forget to thank the monks of St. Bernard for 
their attention to his army : he left with them a magnifi- 
cent present. Then, descending the slopes to the south, 
he followed the fashion of the mountaineers, and let him- 
self slide over the snow. 

In due time he was before the troublesome fort of Bard, 
and he at once admitted that all he had been told by his 
Generals was correct : that Bard was an obstacle hardly to 
be passed. His mind was soon made up. First, he sent 
over the precipices leading to the mountain of Albaredo, 
which overshadows the valley, his infantry, cavalry, and 
four-pounders. To enable this to be done, it was, of 
course, necessary to make some sort of a road. An army 

21 



UNSUCCESSFUL ASSAULTS 

of fifteen hundred labourers was soon at work cutting the 
road, removing obstacles, and bridging torrents. The 
commander of the fort was much chagrined when he saw 
the French passing up and out of his reach, while he 
could do nothing whatever to stop them, and he sent word 
to his superior that the enemy would to a certainty get 
down into the plains of Piedmont. He added, however, 
that he would wager his head they would arrive there 
without a single gun. 

Meantime Napoleon himself, down below in the valley, 
set to work to take the fort, if it might be, or, if not, to 
pass it somehow. He began by summoning the commander 
of it to capitulate. But the Austrian officer was far too 
sensible of the importance and advantage of his position, 
and replied that he would yield to nothing but superior 
force. A few of the artillery, who had scrambled up to 
the heights above, opened fire upon the fort, but without 
effect. Then Napoleon ordered an escalade of the outer 
works of the fort, the only result of which was the loss of 
a valuable officer and several brave grenadiers. The next 
move of the French was to attempt to carry past the place 
a piece of cannon under cover of the night, but the noise 
attracted the attention of the Austrians within. They 
threw up light-balls, which lit up the whole locality ; then, 
directing their guns upon the adventurous Frenchmen, 
they killed or wounded no fewer than seven out of the 
thirteen soldiers in charge of the cannon. This sort of 
thing was enough to daunt even the most valiant, and 
another plan was tried. 

" The street was covered with straw and stable dung, 
and bands of tow were placed round the gun in such 

22 



TRIUMPH OF THE FRENCH 

a manner as to prevent the least clash of the mass of 
metal upon the carriage. The horses were detached, 
and bold artillerymen dragged them by main strength, 
venturing to pass under the batteries of the fort along 
the street of Bard. The plan perfectly succeeded. The 
enemy, who occasionally fired by way of precaution, struck 
some of the gunners ; but in no long time, in spite of the 
fire, the heavy artillery was moved to the other side of the 
defile, and this formidable difficulty, which had caused the 
First Consul more anxiety than the passage of St. Bernard 
itself, was thus overcome. The artillery horses had been 
taken round by the Albaredo path." 

Down the valley of the Dora Baltea, with its great 
rocky sides, the French now marched triumphant. The 
chief obstacle had been surmounted. And all this while 
the other sections of the army had been traversing the 
Alps, each by the pass assigned to it. A vast body of 
troops was ready to pour down upon the plains of Italy, 
there to concentrate against the Austrian forces. Lannes, 
with the advance-guard, now determined to leave the 
mountains and show himself openly in the plains below. 
But before this could be done it was necessary that he 
should dislodge the Austrian General in charge of the 
outlet from the Alps. This officer, Haddick, had with 
him a considerable force of infantry and cavalry, and he was 
well posted near the bridge over the Chiusella, a tributary 
of the Dora Baltea. 

The bridge was strongly defended, and the French 
found it impossible to take it by assault. Nothing 
daunted, however, the troops dashed into the river itself, 
and began to scramble up the opposite bank. Here they 

23 



FIGHT AT THE CHIUSELLA BRIDGE 

were met by the Austrian cavalry, under General Palfy. 
A hard fight took place, but when Palfy fell dead from his 
horse, his troops immediately fled. All the while other 
Austrian troops kept up a deadly fire against Lannes and 
his men. General Haddick presently came to the attack 
with spirit, and for a time the issue was doubtful. Yet 
the French infantry sustained the onset of the enemy's 
cavalry with splendid firmness, and held their ground. 

A final effort was made by the Austrians. A thousand 
of their cavalry dashed with tremendous fury against the 
French foot. Thrice they charged, and as often the shock 
was sustained and the assault repulsed at the point of the 
bayonet. The Austrian Commander, after gallant but 
ineffectual efforts, was now compelled to give the order to 
retreat, and the French army, after unexampled difficulties 
and dangers amidst the wild, snow-bound fastnesses of the 
Alps, was now free to pour forth from the mountain 
valleys into the rich fields of Piedmont. 

Thirteen days only had passed since the first troops had 
set their faces towards the Alpine slopes at St. Pierre. 
Now the stupendous enterprise planned by the First 
Consul had been carried out with extraordinary success. 
" An army of forty thousand men — infantry, cavalry, and 
artillery — had passed by unbeaten paths over the highest 
mountains in Europe, dragging its artillery by main 
strength along the snow, or pushing it forward under the 
murderous fire of a fort, almost close to the muzzles of its 
guns. One division of five thousand men had descended 
the Little St. Bernard ; another of four thousand had 
passed over Mont Cenis; a detachment occupied the 
Simplon; and lastly, a corps of fifteen thousand men, 

24 



A STUPENDOUS UNDERTAKING 

under General Moncey, was on the summit of the St. 
Gothard. There were thus sixty thousand soldiers and 
more about to enter Italy ; still, it is true, separated 
from each other by considerable distances, but assured of 
soon rallying round the principal mass of forty thousand, 
who had come by Ivrea, in the centre of the semicircle of 
the Alps." 

And, it must not be forgotten, Bonaparte was in posses- 
sion of all the mountain tracks that led back to his own 
country, and was thus prepared for retreat should disaster 
befall his troops. The extraordinary expedition across the 
stupendous Alpine barrier had been no mere whim of a 
proud conqueror, but the outcome of a well -reasoned 
plan, conceived and carried out by a master of the military 
art. 



25 



CHAPTER II 

AMONG THE MOUNTAINS OF ABYSSINIA 

James Bruce, one of the most noted of British travellers — He 
reaches Abyssinia — Departs for the interior — Reaches the 
mountains — A great storm — Wonderful rise of a river — Traces 
of elephants seen in plenty — Inhabitants of the district live in 
cages of hide — A troublesome growth of acacias— Tameness of 
the antelopes — Mount Taranta and its difficulties — Getting the 
instruments up the heights — Sleep in caves — Dixan, a mountain 
stronghold — Slave-trading rife — Bruce joins a party of Moor^ 
and becomes the leader of a caravan — An Abyssinian chief, and 
his methods of horse-dealing — Dangers of the Shangalla country 
— The ( ' steeples " of the Adowa Mountains — A wicked town — ■ 
Natives cut steaks out of a live cow — A frightful mountain 
track — Bruce reaches Gondar — The royal family down with the 
small-pox — A saint vainly tries magic — Bruce forced to under- 
take the sick cases — His lucky success — Installed as Court 
physician — On most intimate terms with the King — Starts for 
the source of the Nile — Is admitted to brotherhood with the 
wild Gallas — Given a steed — " No man will touch you who sees 
that horse "— Arrives at the mountains and village of Geesh — 
Sees one of the springs of the Nile — His triumphant reflec- 
tions. 

Few British travellers have been more enterprising and 
more active than the famous Scotch explorer, James 
Bruce. His journeyings covered an immense extent and 
variety of country, and many of his adventures and strange 
experiences were so extraordinary that not a few of his 
contemporaries were inclined to doubt his veracity. But 

26 



BRUCE'S JOURNEY TO ABYSSINIA 

there seems to be no reason for distrusting the general 
accuracy of Bruce's stories. He travelled over most of 
Europe, a part of Asia, and a good deal of Africa, — in Egypt, 
in Algeria, in Nubia, in Abyssinia — playing many parts. 

When Bruce first set foot in Abyssinia, now more than 
a hundred and thirty years ago, exceedingly little was 
known of the interior of that far-off land. But it was 
among its mountains that the mysterious and historic 
Nile was believed to have its rise, and one of the things to 
which Bruce looked forward with almost feverish interest 
was the possibility of penetrating to the long-hidden source 
of that mighty river. 

The traveller had been detained by a chief nearer the 
coast, but at length he was suffered to depart for the 
interior. For a short time his route lay over plains, but 
when he reached the neighbourhood of the mountains he 
found his way full of difficulties. The ground was rough, 
steep, and stony, and he was obliged to march along the 
bed of a mountain torrent. Then, striking off from the 
stream, he made for a grassy hill, and there pitched his 
tent for the night. His early experiences among the 
Abyssinian mountains were sufficiently exciting. A violent 
storm suddenly came on. The thunder and lightning 
were terrific, the lightning very vivid and blue in tint, and 
the thunder-peals tremendous. Up to the beginning of 
the storm the bed of the torrent had been almost dry, 
but in an incredibly short space of time it presented a 
very different aspect. Bruce's own description is worth 
quoting : 

" The river scarcely ran at our passing it. All on a 
sudden, however, we heard a noise on the mountains above 

27 



TRACES OF ELEPHANTS 

louder than the loudest thunder. Our guides upon this 
flew to the baggage, and removed it to the top of the 
green hill, which was no sooner done than we saw the 
river coming down in a stream about the height of a man, 
and the breadth of the whole bed it used to occupy. The 
water was thickly tinged with red earth, and swelled a 
little above its banks, but did not reach our station on the 
hill." 

Soon the traveller came upon plentiful evidences of the 
existence of elephants in the district. Along the tracks 
by which the animals had marched, many trees were 
broken in the middle, or thrown down, while in places the 
ground was strewn with the branches they had snapped off 
and partly eaten. But none of the elephants were actually 
met with thereabouts. The people of the locality dwelt 
for the most part in mountain caverns and hollows, though 
some of them lived in what might be called cages — construc- 
tions made of wood and skins, and built to accommodate 
two persons. The tribes, strange to say, were copper- 
coloured rather than black or white. The travelling after 
this district was left behind became still more difficult, 
and even painful, for presently the explorer and his men 
had to push their way through thick groves of acacias, and 
the prickly branches of the trees tore the flesh and clothing 
in a cruel manner. 

A wild and desolate hill region followed, and the 
travellers were glad to make a short stay at a station 
called Tubbo, where the surroundings were much more 
agreeable. Then on again, the mountains once more very 
steep, much broken, and full of crags and precipices of a 
dangerous character. But the ravines were lovely with 

28 



MOUNT TARANTA 

abundant foliage and splendid flowers, and delightful with 
the song of birds. The amount of bird-life, in truth, 
Bruce found astonishing. He specially noted that the 
song of the skylark, among these Abyssinian fastnesses, 
was exactly the same as in England. Game was plentiful, 
especially antelopes and partridges. The antelopes were 
evidently quite unused to the presence of man, for they 
exhibited not the least fear on the approach of Bruce and 
his following, merely standing aside to let them pass, and 
gazing at them in wonder. 

For some time the party had been advancing towards 
Taranta, a lofty and conspicuous mountain, but when they 
actually reached its base, the prospect was one that almost 
forced them to turn back. " The difficulties which pre- 
sented themselves were appalling. The road, if it deserved 
the name, was of incredible steepness, and intersected 
almost at every step by large hollows and gullies formed 
by the torrents, by vast fragments of rock which, loosened 
from the cliffs above by the rains, had rolled down the 
chasm " through which the path of the travellers lay. 
Bruce had with him certain valuable scientific instruments, 
of which his telescope, his quadrant, and his timekeeper 
were the principal. How to get these things safely to the 
top of those well nigh inaccessible heights was a puzzle 
indeed ; the servants of the expedition declared it to be 
an impossibility. Those who carried the quadrant, indeed, 
coolly proposed an easy way out of the difficulty — namely, 
by dragging the instrument on the ground ! Bruce was 
not a man to be stopped by difficulties, if a way out 
of them was possible to human ingenuity and human 
perseverance. So the explorer himself took charge of the 

29 



A TOILSOME ASCENT 

quadrant to carry, being assisted by a young Moor who had 
j oined the party for a time. After extraordinary exertions, 
during which their clothes were torn to pieces, and their 
hands and knees cut in a shocking manner, the two men 
succeeded in placing the quadrant in safety, far above the 
stony parts of the mountain. Their companions were by 
this time thoroughly ashamed of themselves, and set to 
work on the burdens with a will, each man now striving 
to surpass his fellows, and thus the rest of the instruments 
and the baggage were quickly carried up the steeps. 

But Mount Taranta was by no means yet done with ; in 
truth, the men had made but half the ascent. They were 
too tired to attempt more that day, however, and threw 
themselves on the ground, too exhausted even to pitch 
their tents. As it happened, this operation would have 
been an impossible one, the ground being too rocky to 
admit of driving in tent-pegs. When night fell, Bruce 
and his companions went off to sleep in some caves in the 
rocks which they observed near. As a matter of fact, 
many of the Abyssinian mountains were found to abound 
in caves. In the morning, when the upward journey was 
resumed, the path proved steeper than ever, but it also 
proved on the whole less rugged and toilsome. For two 
days longer the travellers wandered among the heights and 
valleys of the same mountain group. 

A halt was then made at Dixan, the first considerable 
settlement they had met with. It was built on the top of 
a sugar-loaf hill, and was splendidly situated for defence. 
On every side the ground fell away sharply to the valley, 
which, like a trench, completely surrounded the hill on 
which the town stood. The road up into the place wound 

30 



BRUCE LEADER OF A CARAVAN 

round the hill in spiral fashion. The explorer found the 
people of Dixan a bad set ; in fact, they had among their 
countrymen an unenviable reputation for wickedness, 
" and appeared fully to deserve it P The main trading of 
the place was in slaves, especially boys and girls, whom 
they stole wherever they could lay hands on them. Most 
of the poor wretches were bought up by Moorish travelling 
merchants, and sent by them to Arabia or India. Bruce 
was not sorry to see the last of Dixan. 

By an altogether unexpected turn of fortune he now 
found himself installed as chief of a large caravan. He 
had been joined by a number of Moors, who possessed 
twenty donkeys and a couple of bulls, all laden with mer- 
chandise. The Moors were desirous of combining with so 
strong a force as Bruce's for the additional security thus 
afforded to them and their goods. A picturesque cere- 
mony took place under a tree, at a spot where they had all 
encamped for the night. The Moors solemnly elected 
Bruce as the chief of the combined caravan, promising on 
oath to stand by him to the end if danger should arise, 
and to yield him implicit obedience in all lawful things. 
Next day, as they travelled on, they saw, looking back at 
Taranta, a terrible storm playing about the mountain, 
whose lofty summit was covered with the blackest of 
clouds, from which flashes of the most brilliant lightning 
could be seen darting forth every moment. The travellers 
were glad to have left behind so storm-stricken a spot. 

That same day Bruce had an odd experience. Whilst 
he and his following were resting from the noontide heat, 
there descended from the heights above the chief of the 
neighbourhood, attended by the raggedest of retinues. 

31 



BRUCE PURCHASES A HORSE 

He had with him several horses, to one of which the 
Scotchman took a particular fancy. It was a handsome 
black animal of the Dongola breed. So after the chief 
had departed again to his palace on the hill, Bruce sent up 
a man to bargain for the horse. The price, twelve pounds, 
was agreed upon, and the chief promised to send down the 
purchase. What was the buyer's disgust when he found 
that the black horse had turned brown, that he had grown 
old, that he had lost an eye ! He at once sent the brute 
back again, and demanded his rightful property — a pro- 
ceeding not without risk, probably, in so wild and lawless 
a mountain district, and amidst the peoples subject to the 
chieftain. However, after a great deal of disputing and 
squabbling, the real charger was produced. It had been 
miserably starved by its master, but under Bruce's care the 
black horse became a faithful servant and friend, as the 
traveller gratefully styles him. To this splendid animal 
Mirza, as it was called, Bruce more than once owed his 
life. 

The caravan was now approaching the country of the 
Shangalla, or, rather, a district much subject to incursions 
by the dreaded Shangalla tribes. It was a country of 
extraordinary fertility, the valleys well wooded and gay 
with flowers. The wild-oats that covered a portion of 
the route taken by our travellers were so tall that they 
swallowed up man and horse together, in much the same 
way as the jungle grass of India often does. This district 
might have been a veritable paradise, but the peoples 
were so often at war with each other, and the country so 
liable to the inroads of enemies from without, that a good 
portion of it was left uncultivated. The scanty crops 

32 



THE MOUNTAINS OF ADOWA 

that were grown were seldom got in without bloodshed, 
the labourers having to work gun and sword in hand, so 
to speak. Bruce judged it wise to instruct his men to 
overhaul their arms thoroughly, and be prepared at any 
time to defend themselves, in case the Shangalla robbers 
should appear. Luckily for the caravan, it was suffered 
to pass unmolested through the country. It is more than 
probable that the combined party was considered too 
formidable to be attacked. 

By and by Bruce gained a glimpse of the mountains of 
Adowa, towards which he had been travelling, and early 
in December he arrived at the town of the same name. 
The mountains hereabouts the explorer found to be un- 
like any he had seen in other countries. " Their sides 
were all perpendicular," he writes, "high, like steeples or 
obelisks, and broken into a thousand different forms." 
The town was of no great size, but it was strongly placed 
and defended. It was so intersected by breadths of trees 
and flowers, that at a little distance it seemed like an 
extensive and beautiful park. Within its borders, how- 
ever, wickedness and cruelty reigned supreme. The 
palace of the chief, on a commanding height, looked like, 
and was in reality, a huge prison. It contained within 
its walls more than three hundred wretched prisoners in 
irons, some of whom had been there for twenty years and 
more, the object of the tyrant being to extort more and 
more money from them. Bruce stayed ten days at this 
mountain stronghold of Adowa, taking care to visit the 
ruins of Axum, an ancient place in the neighbourhood, 
which must once have been a splendid city, judging from 
its wonderful remains. 

33 c 



ABYSSINIAN CRUELTY 

He was a witness, not long after leaving Adowa, to a 
strange and a cruel spectacle. Three men by the wayside 
were observed sitting astride a cow which they had thrown 
to the ground. They made a deep incision in the animal's 
hind quarters. Bruce, supposing they were about to 
slaughter the cow, began to bargain for some of the flesh 
for his party. To his astonishment, the fellows declared 
they were not going to kill the animal. Then, to the 
traveller's disgust, they proceeded to cut out of the living 
beast two large steaks. Bruce did not see the actual 
operation, for he had turned away a little, not wishing 
to witness the slaughter of the animal. His companions 
had all gone on ahead. When he came back to the spot, 
there the steaks were. The wretches then pinned together 
the portions of skin on the two sides of the incision, put 
over the wound a plaster of clay, and coolly drove on the 
poor brute as before. 

After a vexatious detention in a miserable hill village, 
whose chief seemed disposed to put an end to the journey 
altogether, if not to the lives of the whole party, the 
caravan proceeded in the direction of Mount Lamalmon, 
one of the loftiest heights of the country. The path up 
was arduous in the extreme. Its greatest breadth in any j 
part was not more than two feet. Far over the heads of I 
the travellers towered the cliffs and rocks ; below them the i 
precipices dropped away almost sheer down into awful 
abysses. It tried the strongest head to gaze into those j 
fearful depths. Moreover, the path was much broken 
up by torrents of water and by fallen rocks. Up such 
a road as this it was impossible to take the baggage i 
in bulk ; it had to be carried up piece by piece, and for 

34 



SMALL-POX AT GONDAR 

only short distances at a time. The labour was excessive, 
and the danger to man and beast very great. The mules, 
generally so sure-footed on steep declivities, kept their 
footing only with much difficulty, even though they 
passed up unburdened. The men had themselves to get 
the baggage up as best they might, the mules being quite 
useless for the purpose. As in the case of Mount Taranta, 
Bruce had to take two days for the ascent, resting for the 
night in the same fashion, exhausted, on the open flank 
of the hill. 

Gondar, the goal for which he had been making all the 
while, was reached by Bruce in the middle of February. 
He found a lodging at the house of one of his Moors, and 
hoped for a period of rest and quiet, after the fatigues 
and hardships of a long journey over the mountains. He 
was not left long in peace, however, for as he was sitting 
reading one evening shortly after his arrival in the town, 
he was surprised and alarmed to receive a visit from a 
party of armed men. The leader of the company declared 
himself to be the Queen's chamberlain, and he went on to 
say that Her Majesty, having heard of the stranger's great 
skill as a physician, required him to repair to the palace, 
where a young Prince was lying ill of the smallpox ! 
Here was a strange part for the Scottish traveller to play. 
But he went to the palace next morning, when, to his 
intense relief, he learnt that the Prince had been put 
under the care of a notable saint from Waldubba. This 
man's treatment consisted in writing certain characters 
with ink on a tin plate ; he then washed off the mystic 
writing, and administered the liquid as a medicine. Most 
unfortunately for the saintly physician, the sick Prince 

35 C 2 



BRUCE AS COURT PHYSICIAN 

died that same evening, as also did a Princess of the same 
royal house. 

Just as Bruce was congratulating himself on his lucky 
escape from all blame in this matter, he was summoned in 
haste to the palace again, and there he was installed, 
willy-nilly, as head Court physician ! A dangerous post ; 
a post still more dangerous to refuse. By this time many 
members of the family were sick, and Bruce had a heavy 
task. But he exerted himself to the utmost and tried all 
his skill, and so fortunate was he in his treatment of 
the patients, that they all recovered under his hands, save 
one. His reputation was made ; he became a great man 
at Court ; he lived on the most intimate terms with the 
King himself, who appointed him Governor over one of his 
provinces. 

Bruce, as we have said, hoped to discover in Abyssinia the 
long-sought source of the Nile, and he fully believed himself 
to have succeeded, as not a few others believed with him, 
for a time. Starting from Gondar, he was introduced by 
Fasil, a rebel leader, to seven chieftains of the Gallas. 
Ferocious savages and notorious thieves these fellows were, 
but they gave him their protection ; in fact, they went 
through the ceremony of admitting him a member of the 
Galla peoples. Without some such help, it is more than 
probable that the adventurous Scotchman would never 
have travelled safe]y through the country of these fright- 
fully cruel and savage tribes. The Gallas gave him a 
horse saddled and bridled, with the words, "Take this 
horse, but do not mount it yourself. Drive it before 
you, saddled and bridled as it is ; no man of Meitsha will 
touch you when he sees that horse." And so Bruce found it. 

36 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE 

It was on the 3rd of November, 1770, that the intrepid 
traveller came to a triple range of mountains, behind which 
he was told was the source of the great Nile. He imagined 
this range to be the Mountains of the Moon, in which he 
was, of course, mistaken. However, ascending the heights, 
he was strangely moved by seeing down below the infant 
river. It was a mere streamlet, with hardly enough water 
to turn a wheel. " I could not satiate myself with the 
sight, ,, he writes delightedly, " revolving in my mind all 
those classical prophecies that had given the Nile up to 
perpetual obscurity and concealment ... By the pro- 
tection of Providence and my own intrepidity, I had 
gained a triumph over all that were powerful and all that 
were learned since the remotest antiquity." 

He was led into the village of Geesh, hard by, and was 
there shown a sort of pool in the hill-side, with a piece of 
green sod in the middle of the water. From a fount in 
this tiny islet issued the beginnings of the mighty Nile. 
Bruce was warned to pull off his shoes if he went to the 
fountain itself, since the inhabitants of the land, though 
they believed not in God, yet held the river to be a 
divinity. 

"Half undressed as I was, by the loss of my sash, and 
throwing off my shoes, I ran down the hill and came to 
the island of green turf, which was in form of an altar, 
apparently the work of art, and I stood in rapture over 
the principal fountain which rises in the middle of it." 

He goes on to say : " It is easier to guess than to 
describe the situation of my mind at that moment, stand- 
ing in that spot which had baffled the genius, industry, and 
inquiry of both ancients and moderns for the course of near 

37 



TRIUMPHANT REFLECTIONS 

three thousand years. Kings had attempted this discovery 
at the head of armies, and each expedition was distinguished 
from the last only by the difference of the numbers that 
had perished, and agreed alone in the disappointment 
which had uniformly, and without exception, followed 
them all. . . . Though a private Briton, I triumphed 
here, in my own mind, over Kings and their armies." 

Bruce was mistaken in thinking that the branch whose 
birth he witnessed was the main stream of the Nile, and 
was also in error in believing himself to be the first 
European to look upon the sight ; yet we may well pardon 
the exultation of a gallant and successful explorer. 



38 



CHAPTER III 

ON THE WAY TO SRINAGAR 

Mr. Daniell, a noted artist, travels in India, three-quarters of a 
century a^o, in company of a clergyman friend — Through the 
mountains on the way to Srinagar — The Coaduwar Ghaut — Bad 
tidings from other travellers met — Mountains on fire — The 
conflagration extinguished hy a deluge — A huge rhinoceros on 
the path — The artist coolly sketches the beast — An escort 
arrives from the Rajah of Srinagar — A land swarming with 
dangerous beasts— Trouble with the Rajah's men — The effect of 
a sound thrashing — The mountain torrents and their dangers — 
A man whirled off by one — Palanquins with jointed poles — At 
the bottom of an awful defile — The stars in broad daylight — A 
memorable and terrifying thunderstorm — A portmanteau 
dropped into an abyss — Its plucky rescue at the risk of a man's 
life — A frail rope-bridge and its terrors — An elk shot — A 
shooting-party — A bear suddenly appears — Its hostility — 
" Don't fire !" — A novel plan carried out by the natives — 
Bear enticed into a tree, then shot into space, as if from a 
catapult — The tiger country at length reached — One of the 
brutes reported to be about — A tiger-trap — A fall into the 
pit — Royal rage of the baifled beast — Desperate attempts 
to escape — Fearful yells — Seven bullets required to give the 
tiger his quietus. 

It is now almost exactly three-quarters of a century since 
Mr. William Daniell, a noted artist in his day and a 
Royal Academician, went on his travels to India. He 
was accompanied by Mr. Caunter, a clergyman, and the 
two friends spared no pains to see the great Eastern 

39 



TRAVELLING IN INDIA 

peninsula thoroughly. They visited many a notable city, 
but did not neglect the wilder parts of the country. 
They traversed interminable plains, and threaded awful 
mountain passes and gorges ; now they were ferried across 
the wide waters of lordly rivers, and now they were risking 
their lives in the passage of some frightful mountain 
torrent. 

Not the least interesting of their experiences were those 
that accompanied a journey to Srinagar, far away among 
the remotest fastnesses of the stupendous mountains of the 
north. No reader needs to be told that so far back as the 
early part of the nineteenth century India was not so 
well provided as it is to-day with magnificent high roads, 
fine bridges, wayside inns, and other resting-places for 
adventurous travellers. Moreover, the wilder parts of the 
country were often very unsafe, except for a numerous and 
well-armed company. 

As our travellers entered the Coaduwar Ghaut, and thus 
the mountains proper, they received from men they met 
a dismal report as to the difficulties of the mountain 
district before them, and they were especially discouraged 
by the news that the snow had already begun to fall. 
Plucking up their courage, nevertheless, Mr. Daniell and 
Mr. Caunter kept on their way. They had scarcely 
cleared the first narrow glen when they were surprised and 
alarmed to see apparently the whole range of mountains 
before them in a blaze. " The fire swept up their sides to 
the extent of several miles, undulating like the agitated 
waves of the ocean when reddened by the slanting beams 
of the setting sun. It was like an ignited sea, exhibiting 
an effect at once new and fearful." 

40 



SKETCHING A RHINOCEROS 

The travellers could hardly be said to be in any real 
danger, situated, as they were, at the bottom of a deep 
ravine, along which tumbled a brawling torrent. They 
learnt that these mountain fires are often caused by the 
swaying of the tall and dry bamboos, the violent and long- 
continued friction at last kindling a flame. The con- 
flagration was extinguished as suddenly as it had begun, 
a mighty deluge of rain coming on, and drowning the 
flames with its floods. 

An adventure of a different sort soon came their way. 
They were in a country filled with all kinds of game, and 
sheltering not a few dangerous animals. Mr. Daniell and 
his friend had just turned the corner of a precipitous hill, 
when suddenly they found themselves in the presence of a 
huge rhinoceros, the brute being separated from them 
only by the narrow torrent, though it was on a somewhat 
higher ledge than that on which the men were standing. 
To the hunter pure and simple this would have been a 
godsend. And so it was to the artist. Not less plucky 
than the hunter, he clambered up to the animal's level, and 
proceeded coolly to sketch the beast. Strange to say, the 
rhinoceros stood still, showing no signs of either anger or 
fear. In short, Mr. Daniell finished his sketch with com- 
posure, notwithstanding the risks he ran. Then, unwilling 
to rouse to fury an animal their guns could not damage, they 
fired a shot only with the view of frightening the brute away. 
To their great relief, the rhinoceros did depart, but only 
with the utmost deliberation. 

A halt had to be made in the defiles till permission 
could be obtained from the Rajah of Srinagar to proceed 
to his capital. The Prince, in reply to the messengers 

41 



A TROUBLESOME ESCORT 

sent by the Englishmen, not only granted the required 
permit, but also sent an escort to protect the party on 
the most- arduous and hazardous portion of the way. 
Presently, passing a village with a small detachment 
of troops, they were fairly in the Rajah's territory. This 
pass, or ghaut, the Englishmen learnt, had to be entirely 
abandoned by the soldiery in the rainy season, the defiles 
being then infested by an immense multitude of savage 
beasts which took shelter there — tigers, leopards, bears, 
hyenas, and other beasts of prey. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the attendants and 
bearers had been sent by the Rajah himself, our travellers 
soon found they were likely to have some trouble with the 
fellows. They were a lazy lot, and refused to carry the 
burdens assigned to them. Before long the majority of 
them deserted, and left the Englishmen to do as best 
they could. The situation was a serious one, and the 
travellers had to supply the places of the deserters without 
delay. With immense difficulty they succeeded in gather- 
ing a few of the country fellows, but what was their 
chagrin when these also showed signs of defection ! There- 
upon the Englishmen administered a sound thrashing to 
the worst of the offenders — a strong measure, and one they 
were most reluctant to adopt. Strange to say, it had the 
desired effect, and they were no more troubled by the 
laziness of their followers, though it was necessary to keep 
a constant and vigilant watch over them. 

The character of the country through which the party 
passed was such as to baffle description. As they say, " to 
look down some of the gaping gulfs which arrested our 
gaze as we passed them required no ordinary steadiness of 

42 



DANGERS OF MOUNTAIN TORRENTS 

brain ; and the road by which we had to' descend was 
frequently so steep that we were obliged to cling to the 
jagged projections of rock, or to the few stunted shrubs 
that appeared here and there in our path. . . . Impedi- 
ments began to multiply upon us.'" Their worst trouble was 
with the nullahs, or mountain torrents, which they often 
had to cross. The difficulty of crossing some of these 
was only equalled by the danger. The least slip would 
have meant great peril, and probably death, for such is 
the force of the torrent, and so many are the cascades and 
falls in its course, that a man would be swirled over 
rock after rock before any attempt could be made to save 
him, if, indeed, it were possible to save him at all. 

In one spot, where the roar of the streams was deafen- 
ing, and the reverberations amongst the rock-faces abso- 
lutely stunning, one of the party was whirled from his 
feet in mid-stream. For a few moments there was 
excitement and to spare. The man was carried down at 
a furious rate, and it seemed as if nothing could save 
him. As it happened, fortunately, farther down the 
torrent a tree had fallen across the waters. The drown- 
ing man had the presence of mind to clutch a branch 
of this, and to hang on for dear life, till he could be 
rescued. 

The travellers pursued their journey for the most part 
" in silence and weariness."" Each of them was carried in 
a palanquin, as a rule ; but so wild and dangerous was 
a good deal of the country, that they dared not make use 
of the vehicles. In many and many a place the narrow- 
ness of the ledge on which they were progressing, and the 
abruptness of the turns to be made, rendered it impossible 

43 



STARS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT 

to use poles of the ordinary kind for the palanquins. In 
those mountain districts jointed poles took their place, 
making it possible to turn sharp corners ; but it may well 
be imagined that our Englishmen were not very willing to 
trust themselves to their bearers in such spots. 

So far the weather had been favourable, but the 
inevitable storm was at hand. The cavalcade, if such the 
travelling party could be called when there were no horses, 
had reached the most forbidding part of the whole moun- 
tain area. They found themselves at the bottom of a 
ravine shaped like a funnel, to the depths of which the sun 
never penetrated. There was at the best but a dismal 
twilight down there ; so dark was it, in fact, that as they 
looked up from the profound depths of the gorge they 
could see the stars in the sky, though it was the middle of 
the afternoon. The sky seemed to be " one uniform tint 
of the deepest purple, while the brilliancy with which the 
stars emitted their vivid fires altogether baffles description. 
Nothing could exceed the splendour of the scene." 

The brightness of the day above became now suddenly 
overcast, and almost without the least warning the storm 
was upon them. The darkness at the bottom of their awful 
defile became in a moment or two intense. Then the rains 
began to descend, and the travellers and their servants 
were fain to take shelter under a huge projecting rock 
which they found hard by. The lightning was appalling 
in its frequency and its intensity. From the spot where 
the men stood could be seen many tall, needle-like peaks 
above, " which seemed to plunge their tall spires into the 
skies, and absolutely to prop the firmament." These peaks 
at every flash were lighted up in a way that would have 

44 



A PLUCKY RESCUE 

been grand had it not been also terrifying. As for the 
thunder, it resounded from rock to rock, and from flank to 
flank, till it became, as it were, one continuous and 
tremendous crash. When there did come a second or two 
of silence it was so intense as to be absolutely painful. 
The storm did not last many minutes, and did no damage 
to the travellers, luckily, but it made on them an impres- 
sion that would neyer be effaced. The tempest ceased as 
suddenly as it had begun, and in a few moments after the 
skies were bright again. 

Continuing their journey, the party found themselves on 
a narrow shelf ; above, the mountain towered to an enor- 
mous height ; below, the precipice fell away sheer into the 
depths below. At this point one of the porters dropped a 
bag or small portmanteau, which, of course, fell into the 
gulf. The Englishmen looked upon their property as lost 
for ever, but to their astonishment, and indeed dismay, the 
man announced his determination to fetch the lost article 
again. " A stout cord, composed of hair, was passed 
round the limb of a tree that projected over the precipice. 
The end was firmly tied to a thick bamboo, about fifteen 
inches long, upon which the man placed his feet, and, 
grasping the rope in both hands, was slowly lowered into 
the void. As the face of the precipice sloped gradually 
inward, he was not within reach of it during the whole of 
his descent. When about fifty yards below the summit, 
he was swayed in an alarming degree by the wind, which, 
pouring down the chasm and not finding a ready vent, was 
forced back again in strong eddies that seemed at times to 
whirl him round with dangerous velocity. He, however, 
still maintained his hold until he appeared but a speck, 

45 



A FRAIL ROPE-BRIDGE 

when, the cord slackening, it was clear he had reached his 
destination. After a short time, upon a signal being 
given from below by a sudden jerk of the cord, the men 
above began to haul up their companion, who, from the 
additional weight, had evidently recovered his burden. 
They pulled him up much more expeditiously than they 
had let him down, and he soon reappeared uninjured, with 
the portmanteau upon his shoulders.'" 

That afternoon the travellers came upon the first of 
the rope-bridges so common in the mountain districts of 
Northern India. They gazed with alarm upon the frail 
apparatus, but there was no help for it, and they resigned 
themselves to the inevitable. The ropes — there were two 
— were made of twisted creepers, and were an inch and a 
half in diameter. A sort of hoop spanned these ropes, and 
on the lower rim of this the adventurous traveller seated 
himself; then, holding a rope in either hand, he proceeded 
to pull himself across. To the hill men the business 
seemed easy enough, and not in the least terrifying, 
but the case was different with the Englishmen. To be 
thus suspended on such a crazy apparatus, a hundred feet 
above a boiling torrent, the whole machine vibrating 
violently in the strong wind the while, tried the nerves of 
both. Fortunately the passage was made by all the party 
in safety, and the terrors of it were at once forgotten in 
the excitements of the chase. The last man had scarce 
crossed, when an elk, or moose-deer, was started, and a 
helter-skelter after it at once took place. Finally the elk 
was shot, and proved to be a very fine animal. 

Sport of a more exciting character presently appeared. 
Mr. Daniell went off with his gun into a side ravine, 

46 



ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR 

in search of jungle-fowl, the birds being fairly abundant in 
the place, but exceedingly shy. There were with him two 
of the hill men, and after a very stiff and risky climb, they 
had just gained the top of a precipice, when a bear was 
observed hastening towards them. It was evident the 
brute was bent on mischief, and Mr. Daniell was about to 
fire, regretting, however, that his gun was loaded only with 
large shot. At this moment one of the natives intervened, 
and begged the master to leave the bear to him, and he 
would attack it unarmed. The Englishman was astounded, 
but seeing the coolness and confidence of the hillmen, 
agreed to let them try their skill, holding his weapon 
ready, should it after all be needed. 

Almost on the very edge of the precipice grew a tree, 
whose branches stretched over the abyss, and seemed to 
be very pliant but very strong. Without a moment's 
hesitation the hillman approached the bear, and, exciting 
it, drew its attention from the Englishman to himself. In 
a rage the bear made after the man, who thereupon climbed 
with astonishing agility into the tree, the bear as nimbly 
following. The fellow now selected one of the longest of 
the upper branches, and attaching to the end of it a strong 
cord, threw the other end down to his companion below. 
The branch was speedily pulled down with all the man's 
force, till it projected far over the edge of the precipice. 

The chief operator now crept cautiously along the 
branch as far as he dared, the bear following. Then, 
seizing the rope, the fellow slid like a monkey to the 
ground. The bear, thus unexpectedly deprived of its 
victim, attempted to turn, in order to retrace its steps. 
No sooner, however, had it relaxed its grasp of the bough 

47 



THE TIGER COUNTRY REACHED 

for this purpose, than the hillman suddenly cut the cord, 
which had been securely tied to the stump of a tree, and 
the depressed branch instantly gained its original position 
with an irresistible momentum. The suddenness and 
vigour of the recoil shook the bear from its hold, launch- 
ing it, like the fragment of a rock from a catapult, into 
the empty air. Uttering a stifled yell, it was hurled over 
the precipice, and, falling with a dull crash upon the 
rocks beneath, no doubt soon became a prey to the 
vultures and jackals. The address with which the bold 
highlander accomplished this dangerous exploit was as 
astonishing as it was novel. 

It was not till after the visit to Srinagar had ended, 
and the travellers had got almost clear of the mountains 
again, that they saw anything of the tiger, the most 
dreaded of all the wild beasts of India. The chief of the 
district, who showed himself most friendly and hospitable, 
promised his guests an exhibition of tiger-trapping as 
performed in the locality. As it happened, one of these 
animals had been discovered in a wood not far away 
within the last few hours. So the Englishmen stayed to 
watch the operations, in which, as the course of events 
showed, there was little risk to the spectator. 

A large hole was dug in the ground, with sides sloping 
inwards, to a depth of twelve feet, the area of the hole at 
the surface being about a couple of yards square. The 
pit was now concealed by a slight framework of bamboo, 
on which a quantity of grass was strewn. At the approach 
of evening a goat was tethered on the top of the pit, the 
covering being strong enough to support its weight, 
but nothing heavier. Everything being now ready, the 

48 




A NOVEL METHOD OF KILLING A BEAR 

One of the hill men attracted the bear's attention to himself, then swarmed out on the 
branch of a tree, to which a cord had been attached. The bear followed, the man promptly 
slipped back to safety on the rope, which was then pulled so as to make the branch a strong 
spring. When the rope was cut the bear was shot into space. 






A TIGER-TRAP 

watchers concealed themselves behind a few trees to await 
the result. The night was unusually dark. 

It was not till towards morning that their wishes were 
gratified. " We observed the beautiful beast rush from its 
lurking-place, and, when within about five yards of the 
devoted goat, spring upon it with a yell so ferocious that 
I trembled where I stood, though removed from all chance 
of danger. The platform instantly gave way with a crash, 
and the tiger and goat both fell into the hollow beneath. 
As soon as the former found itself a prisoner, it howled 
with rage, lashed its sides with its tail, erected the fur 
upon its back, and exhibited fearful demonstrations of 
fury. It made the most desperate efforts to escape, 
springing up the sides of the shaft, and occasionally cling- 
ing to the very edge. The earth, however, was so soft 
that there was no hold for its claws, so that it always fell 
back ; but upon reaching the ground and finding its efforts 
at release invariably foiled, its fury redoubled. Its yells 
were dreadful. The goat was quite dead, but remained un- 
touched by its destroyer, which at length lay upon its belly 
almost exhausted with its exertions. At this moment our 
host advanced and fired at the dreaded captive as it lay 
panting and powerless. The ball took effect, but not 
mortally. The sudden pang only roused the tiger to renewed 
exertions, in order to retaliate upon its assailant, who 
deliberately loaded and fired until the excited beast was 
destroyed. " So tenacious was it of life, that it received 
seven balls in different parts of its body before it finally 
succumbed. 



49 



CHAPTER IV 

A SOJOURN IN SOCOTRA 

The island of Socotra — Mr. Wellsted, an English scientist and 
explorer — A very mountainous country — Almost impassable 
rocks — Camel slips — A hind-foot in a crack — Huge fall of 
mountain — Extraordinary storms — Into a cave for shelter — A 
night of tempest — Lost camels — Inconceivable fury of the 
blasts — Natives puzzled with the strangers — The men hostile — 
Terror at sight of a Nubian — Attack by four Bedouins with 
clubs — Impudent and intrusive Arabs — An Englishman^ house 
is his castle — Ali kicked out by John Sunday — Natives afraid 
of scientific instruments — The sextant "is of the devil >' ! — 
Thirty plunderers appear — "What is to prevent us from taking 
what we want ?" — " Only this " — Two bullet-holes — Cave- 
dwellers — " Teeming with vermin " — No wild beasts in Socotra 
— An adventure with a snake — A refractory and disloyal guide 
— "We shall see in the morning" — Ali attacks Sunday with a 
club — Retaliation — The Englishman to the rescue — Arab swords 
flourished over his head — A narrow escape — The Cadi and Ali 
— Hostile Arabs biding their time for revenge — The English- 
man and Sunday in danger — Magnificent spot amongst the 
granite mountains — Buried alive. 

Few are the travellers who have visited the island of 
Socotra — off the East African cape Guardafui — or per- 
haps it would be more correct to say, who have written 
at any length on their experiences there. But we have 
an interesting account by Mr. Wellsted, a Fellow of the 
Royal Society, and a traveller of some note in his day, 

50 



ALMOST IMPASSABLE ROCKS 

now more than sixty years ago. In the course of his 
Eastern wanderings, Mr. Wellsted paid a visit of some 
duration to this mountainous island. For Socotra is very 
mountainous ; indeed, few territories of the size can boast 
a more rugged surface, and many of its heights are singu- 
larly arduous and precipitous, and thus difficult to 
traverse. 

His first inland excursion brought him heavy work, 
from the very shore, to which in parts the mountains 
extend. His camels found the smooth limestone rocks 
hardly passable at all. As for the men, they preferred 
to trust to their own hands and knees, crawling on all 
fours past the most dangerous place. They then turned 
to watch the progress of the camels, which had been left 
to their own devices. Three of the animals crossed in 
safety, but the fourth was less lucky. At the worst part 
of the passage he slipped, and began sliding down the 
steep rock. It was a moment of suspense for the owner, 
and it was with relief that he observed the animal put his 
hind foot into a crack and stop his headlong progress. It 
was a clever manoeuvre on the part of the camel. A few 
feet more, and the beast would have rolled over the preci- 
pice and been dashed to pieces. Many and many a similar 
dangerous spot did the explorer come across in the heart 
of the mountains. 

A little later on, he was witness to a strange spectacle 
at the place just mentioned. He had hardly passed the 
spot when his attention was arrested by a low, rumbling 
sound behind him. Instantly turning, he beheld, to his 
great astonishment, a huge mass separate itself from the 
main body of the hill. "Its first course was but slow, 

51 D 2 



EXTRAORDINARY STORMS 

though down a slope. Its velocity, however, quickly in- 
creased, a short projection caught the base, and over 
toppled the whole hill — for so I may, from its magnitude, 
term it. The crashing which immediately succeeded was 
terrific ; but a cloud of dust arose, and I could no longer 
trace its headlong career. The effects, however, were 
apparent enough as soon as the dust cleared away, and a 
shock, like that of an earthquake, announced that the 
main body had reached the sea." 

The storms the traveller had to encounter on the moun- 
tain heights were frequent and of tremendous severity, and 
one was not long before it overtook him. He had, luckily, 
time to run for shelter to a cavern in the mountain- side, 
from which he watched the extraordinary war of the 
elements. The gale increased to a hurricane ; the lightning 
flashed among the glens ; the thunder rolled among the 
peaks ; the waters descended in the torrent-beds as if they 
would sweep all before them. Fortunately dry wood was 
found in the cave, and soon a fire was kindled and a 
capital stew was cooked. The rocky floor of the cavern 
made but a hard bed, yet there was at any rate shelter 
from the pitiless storm without, and there the traveller 
and his men spent the night. In the morning it was 
found that the servants, in their hurry to escape from 
the tempest, had neglected to tether the camels. A whole 
day was occupied in wandering up and down the mountains 
in search of the missing animals. 

The force of the winds on the heights was at times 
terrific, and often exposed the mountaineers to no little 
danger. Mr. Wellsted writes : " The fury of these blasts 
was almost inconceivable. Pent up by the hills on either 

52 



HOSTILITY OF NATIVES 

hand, they roared through the valleys with a strength 
which threatened to carry all before them ; even our camels 
were occasionally compelled to turn or lie down. Branches 
of trees, sand, pebbles, and even birds were swept along by 
the current. Water was hurled past in sheets, and we 
heard from the Bedouins*- that their cattle, by similar 
storms, were frequently driven over the precipices." The 
explorer found that the native Socotrans were always very 
terrified when there was forked lightning, nor did their 
frequent experience of it serve to lessen their fears. 

The natives of the interior were at first greatly puzzled, 
and no little alarmed, by the advent of the Englishman 
and his companions ; more than that, the men were dis- 
posed to be decidedly hostile. His Nubian servant, who 
was dressed in European fashion, particularly frightened 
the women ; they took him to be some infernal sprite. On 
one occasion, having ascended to an elevation of over two 
thousand feet, the traveller was seated sketching, his at- 
tendants having strolled to a distance. Suddenly three or 
four Bedouins made their appearance, armed with thick 
clubs. They had been watching him for some time, and 
were now in a quarrelsome mood. The situation was not 
a pleasant one, and Wellsted was obliged to have recourse 
to various little artifices to keep them quiet. It was with 
no little relief that he saw his servants return. 

The Arabs were always more assuming and more arrogant 
than the native Socotra folk, and the Englishman was 
much annoyed by their habit of walking into his tent 
whenever they had a mind. No hints or even remon- 
strances were sufficient to keep them out. "It is the 
custom of our country ," they would retort ; to which 

53 



INTRUSIVE ARABS 

Wellsted replied : " But such is not ours ;" and he closed 
the entrance of the tent. There was one fellow, Ali by 
name, who would not be said nay. He presently attempted 
to enter by force. The master thought it was time to 
interfere, so he directed his servant — John Sunday, the 
Nubian — to kick the intruder out, which Sunday did 
with great gusto, and Ali was pitched headlong from 
the apartment, much as one might have kicked out 
a cat. 

The explorer was apprehensive lest he might suffer losses 
from the thieving habits of the natives. He was, however, 
somewhat reassured when he saw how terrified the men all 
were by his scientific instruments. Nothing would induce 
one of them to touch the sextant, and as for the telescope, 
when it was put unexpectedly in the hands of another 
fellow, it was instantly thrown to the ground with loud 
cries of horror — " It is of the devil !" But it was evident 
the minds of the natives were often thinking of possible 
plunder, and when one day some thirty of them came 
to the tent, Wellsted determined to read them a lesson. 
After whispering together for a considerable time, the 
savages asked coolly what was to prevent them from taking 
whatever they wanted of his goods. " Nothing more than 
this, , ' > was the quiet reply as he took up his double-barrelled 
rifle. He levelled the gun at a tree a dozen yards off, and 
one after the other the bullets passed clean through the 
trunk, as good luck would have it. " Away scampered 
the whole party ; they probed the orifices with their 
fingers, looked at each other in mute astonishment, and 
then quietly slunk away.'" They could not understand 
the suddenness of the result, nor how the powder was 

54 



CAVE-DWELLERS 

lighted. But the lesson was enough, and the gang went 
empty away. 

Mr. Wellsted was surprised to find to what an extent 
the islanders used caves for dwellings. These caverns were 
to be found at various elevations and nearly all over the 
mountain districts. He climbed up to one of the largest, 
and found it, spacious as it was, crowded not only with 
human beings, but with sheep and goats. Not content 
with their tame flocks, the cave-dwellers caught wild goats, 
using for this purpose nets of special construction, the 
making of which fell to the lot of the old women of the 
community. Amongst the irregularities of the rough and 
blackened roofs roosted a vast number of pigeons and other 
wild birds. Still more numerous, by a good deal, the 
traveller tells us, were the insects of various sorts. One and 
all these abodes were " teeming with an almost incredible 
quantity of vermin." A curious proof of this was pre- 
sently seen. As the strangers were resting in the shade 
near the cave, a woman driving a flock of sheep passed 
near. With her were two boys, who had their mouths 
and nostrils covered with square pieces of cloth. On 
inquiry it was found that the cloth was intended as a pro- 
tection from a certain noisome insect, which, in the human 
subject, produced, severe inflammations. Wellsted's ser- 
vants could never be persuaded to remain inside one of 
these native rock-dwellings; whatever the weather, they 
preferred to stay outside. 

It is a curious fact, as the explorer remarks, that the 
island of Socotra is entirely without those dangerous wild 
beasts which so abound in the adjacent and not far distant 
regions of the African continent and Arabia. He had, 

55 



ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE 

consequently, no lions or elephants or hyenas to fear, nor 
the rhinoceros or hippopotamus. But there were snakes 
in Socotra, and the traveller had a narrow escape in one 
instance. He and his men had climbed up a rugged glen, 
very steep-sided and narrow, often pulling themselves up 
by means of the bushes or the roots of trees. After about 
a couple of hours of this hard work, the Englishman was 
about to seize hold of what he took to be another bit of 
root, when Sunday, quick as lightning, snatched his hand 
away. It was a snake, as was seen a moment later, when 
the reptile lifted its head to strike. It was probably 
heavy after a big feed, or the traveller would, to a cer- 
tainty, have been bitten. This particular snake the natives 
called a, Java. It is most deadly, and the victim of its 
bite never survives more than a few hours. Wellsted had 
in the course of his much wandering been often enough 
in the way of snakes, but this was his narrowest escape. 

He had a good deal of trouble with one of the guides 
he had brought to the island with him. This Hamed, an 
Arab, was found out in continual acts of fraud and dis- 
honesty towards his employer. What was of almost more 
serious consequence was, that the fellow was trying to 
embroil him and his attendants with the natives. At 
length, even the good-natured Englishman's forbearance 
gave way, and he discharged the man. Hamed began to 
be insolent, and intimated his intention of remaining 
whether the master liked it or not. This was too much 
for his employer. " We shall see," he cried, " in the 
morning. If I then find you here I will break your 
bones l" When the morning came, there was nothing to 
be seen of Hamed. 

56 



RETALIATION 

The discomfited Ali had not forgotten Sunday and his 
performances, and was waiting for a chance of retaliating 
on him. One day, a woman screamed to Wellsted : 
" Why, they are murdering your servant !" Out rushed 
the master, and found Ali and Sunday on the ground, 
engaged in a desperate grapple, the Nubian on the top, 
however, and holding the other fast by the throat. Other 
Arabs had run up, and would have cut Sunday to pieces if 
left to their own devices. Wellsted sprang in and sepa- 
rated the two combatants, and directed Sunday to follow 
him. The Arabs hemmed in master and man ; they 
flourished their swords over their heads in frantic fashion ; 
they abused and insulted the two strangers. Things had 
reached a dangerous pass, and there is no doubt that if 
the Arab mob had had anybody to assume the position of 
leader, there would soon have been an end of the English- 
man and Sunday. 

The Nubian explained to his master that, while he had 
been quietly gathering vegetables, the Arab had come up 
stealthily behind him, and had struck him violently on the 
head with a club. Thus attacked, Sunday had closed with 
his antagonist, and a severe struggle had taken place. As 
it happened, however, the black had learnt to use his fists in 
the English fashion, and, as his master whimsically puts it, 
" thanks to his Nubian birth for the thickness of his skull, 
and his English education for the use of his fists, 1 ' Sunday 
would no doubt soon have come off conqueror. But by 
this time the Cadi had been sent for, and Ali and his 
friends swore that his wounds were very serious, whereas 
they were in reality but slight, and what Ali had got he 
richly deserved. Then a number of the Arabs came to 

57 



MASTER AND MAN IN DANGER 

Wellsted with loud complaints that a Mussulman had been 
struck by a Christian slave. The Englishman's back was 
now up, and he gave them a bit of his mind. " None in 
the employ of the English are slaves, but servants, whom, 
so long as they serve us with fidelity, we consider ourselves 
bound to protect with our lives, and any further attempt 
to molest Sunday I shall consider as addressed to myself." 

The traveller says that if anybody is inclined to smile 
at the lofty tone he assumed on this occasion, it will be 
because that person does not understand the conditions in 
which the explorer was placed, and, moreover, does not 
know the character of the peoples with whom that explorer 
had to deal. A confident assumption of superiority and 
authority, so long as it is tempered with judgment, is 
" one of the best qualities which a traveller can possess." 
The incident ended, apparently, but it was soon clearly 
seen that the Arabs were only biding their time, and master 
and man were compelled henceforth to go out together, 
and well armed, so as to prevent an open attack. The 
friendly Socotrans began to be alarmed at the state of 
things, and told the Englishman they would be glad, for 
his own sake, when the ship took him away from the 
island. He determined, therefore, to quit the place as 
soon as he had completed the surveys he desired to 
make. 

Socotra yields to no part of the East in wildness and 
romantic grandeur. One spot particularly pleased the 
traveller. " In the evening we pitched our tent in the 
centre of an enormous hollow in the mountains, not less 
than three miles in diameter. At but a few yards distance 
a beautiful stream murmured its gentle course ; not a 

58 



BURIAL IN SOCOTRA 

breath of wind could reach us, and the wild and plaintive 
notes of the wood-pigeon alone broke the silence and soli- 
tude of the scene. Grey, steep, and towering, the granite 
spires rose to an elevation of five thousand feet, and the 
geologist would have derived great interest from witnessing 
fragments of the lower formation, either borne up between 
two peaks, or curiously wrapped like a mantle round 
others. The junction also between the limestone and the 
granite was beautifully exposed to view, appearing as if a 
huge mass in a state of fusion had subsided over the lower, 
which, in spires, reared themselves beneath.*" 

Many of the Socotran caves had once been used as 
burial-places, but in later times a less wise practice had 
come into vogue with respect to the disposal of the dead. 
One day Wellsted noted an Arab leaving a certain spot. 
Then, to his great surprise, the traveller found an old man 
lying there in a little hollow that had been scooped out of 
the sand. Over the prostrate body was a piece of old and 
tattered cloth, while by his side were a few fragments of 
food. The old man was all but dead. Then Wellsted 
learnt that when the aged became unable to work, it was 
the custom of the island thus to expose them. Food was 
brought them, however, so long as they were able to eat 
it, and, when death came, a few handfuls of sand were 
thrown over the corpse, and that was all the burial it 
received. Practically no distinction was made between the 
dying and the dead ! 



59 



CHAPTER V 

A LADY^S ADVENTURES IN MEXICO 

Mexico one of the mountainous countries — Madame Calderon de la 
Barca, a charming lady writer — Travels for two years in 
Mexico — Execrable roads — Spirited animals — Severity and 
frequency of the thunderstorms — A carriage in a swollen 
mountain torrent — A fearful moment — Country infested with 
desperate robbers — A grinning skull — ( ' The horses climbed up 
one crag and slid down another " — A zorillo hunt — Apparently 
bullet-proof — A wolf at the ladies' side — The hot springs ot 
Cuincho — The ladies lost — Escort of cavalry appears — Bivouac 
in an outhouse — Mosquitoes — An active night among the 
robbers — The leader of the gang caught — A disagreeable 
addition to a travelling party — A typical brigand chief — His 
look scares Madame — Another night in a barn — Nest of scor- 
pions discovered in the morning ! — The famous volcano Jorullo 
— Its first eruption in 1759 — Another visit to the hot springs — 
Lost in the darkness once more — ' ' Three hundred demons " 
in an Indian settlement — A late hour for ladies exposed to 
mountain perils and mountain brigands. 

One of the mountainous countries of the world is certainly 
Mexico. Turn in almost any direction you will, there you 
have, either close at hand or not so very far away, at least 
considerable hills, and generally veritable mountains. The 
great backbone of North America, the Rocky Mountains, 
runs from one end of the country to the other, a succession 
of lofty peaks, frowning precipices, wild torrents, with 
more than one volcano of name and fame. An extended 

60 



MEXICAN STORMS 

tour, or a series of tours, in Mexico, therefore, especially 
sixty or eighty years ago, could not fail to bring to the 
tourist many curious and some exciting adventures, even 
though that tourist happened to be of the sex that is 
commonly supposed to be less adventurous. 

Madame Calderon de la Barca, a lady of note in her 
day, and a friend of Prescott, the famous historian of 
Mexico, went to that country in the year 1839, and made 
a considerable sojourn there. Though most of her time 
was spent in the capital amongst the fashionables and 
notables of Mexico, yet on several occasions she joined in 
extensive expeditions into the heart of the country, more 
especially amongst the mountain districts. The travelling 
was not always easy. Often, indeed, the roads were 
execrable, while sometimes the accommodation to be had 
was of the poorest kind. The animals available for riding 
were not always desirable mounts ; they were, in truth, 
very often but half-broken horses and mules. Thus we 
read of a beautiful animal she rode, dashing away with 
her among the hills, and it was only by her own coolness 
that she kept her seat and saved herself from serious 
injury. Some of the other ladies of the cavalcade fared 
not much better, the mules they rode crushing their feet 
against the trees or throwing their riders over their heads 
in a fit of obstinacy. 

To be caught in a thunderstorm was a very common 
experience, and a thunderstorm is no laughing matter in 
Mexico. As Madame de la Barca says : " When it rains 
here the windows of heaven seem opened, and the clouds 
pour down water in floods ; the lightning, also, appears to 
me particularly vivid, and many more accidents occur 

61 



A FEARFUL MOMENT 

from it here than in the north. We were drenched in 
five minutes, and in this plight resumed our seats in our 
carriage and set off for Guasco, a village where we were to 
pass the night, in a pelting storm. In an hour or two 
the horses were wading up to their knees in water." In 
such a state did the travellers reach the village, only to 
find that there was no public accommodation or shelter 
whatever to be had. 

They were traversing magnificent mountain districts 
in a visit to some of the mines, and in fine weather the 
trip was delightful. But over and over again the thunder- 
storms came on. It was perilous travelling when the 
lightning flashed among the trees, and the wind howled 
furiously ; when the way lay along the edge of frightful 
precipices, down steep and rocky declivities, across raging 
mountain torrents. But for the skill and carefulness 
shown by the drivers, the danger would have been still 
greater. It was the day following such a storm when the 
party left Tepenacasco for another stage of their journey. 
The torrents were swollen in a very dangerous fashion, 
and there were many stories of animals, vehicles, and the 
men with them being swept away to their destruction. 
Suddenly the storm came up again, and the day became 
quite dark. In this state of things the carriage stuck fast 
in a rushing stream, and was instantly filled with water. 
" It was a moment of mortal fear such as I shall never 
forget. The shrieks of the drivers to encourage the 
horses, the loud cries of Ave Maria! the uncertainty as to 
whether our heavy carriage could be dragged across, the 
horses struggling and splashing in the boiling torrent, and 
the horrible fate that awaited us should one of them fall 

62 



TRACES OF ROBBERS 

or falter ! The Senora and I shut our eyes and held each 
other's hands, and certainly no one breathed till we were 
safe on the other side. We were then told that we had 
crossed within a few feet of a precipice over which a coach 
had been dashed into fifty pieces during one of these 
swells, and, of course, every one killed, and that if, instead 
of horses, we had travelled with mules we must have been 

lost." 

Many parts of the mountains were infested with robbers, 
often desperate and reckless fellows. The severest punish- 
ment was dealt out to such of these gentry as were caught, 
but the warnings were little heeded by the rest. In the 
defiles beyond the city of Toluca, Madame Barca's party 
travelled with no little trepidation, for at any moment 
they might be attacked. An object of horror which they 
passed in one gloomy glen did not help to reassure them. 
Nailed to a pine-tree was a blackened and grinning skull. 
It was that of a celebrated robber who had for forty years 
been the terror of those mountain solitudes. Caught at 
last, he had been executed, and then fastened to the very 
tree under which he had committed his last murder. Yet, 
only just before this visit of Madame to the spot, some 
unfortunate wayfarers had been plundered, exactly beneath 
the ghastly skull. Madame was fated to see more than 
she liked of the robber gang before long. 

A few leagues beyond the defile of the grinning skull 
the country became difficult, even more than any they had 
before passed through. It was one succession of deep 
ravines. The horses climbed up one crag and slid down 
another. At the bottom of each defile brawled a rushing 
torrent, the crossing of which sometimes involved danger. 

63 



DESOLATE COUNTRY 

Not a bite for man or beast was to be had. There were 
no trees and no grass ; even Nebuchadnezzar, Madame 
whimsically says, would have found himself at a nonplus. 
Not a village was met with, not even a solitary house. 
The mules were weary, and could only be kept going by 
the wild choruses the drivers joined in perpetually. If 
they inquired of a chance passer-by they encountered, the 
men were always told that the village was " behind the 
next hill." 

As there were gentlemen accompanying this cross- 
country expedition, it may well be supposed that they 
were now and then on the look-out for a little sport. A 
zorillo, or rnouffetes, as the naturalist Buffon calls the 
animal, crossing the path of the party one cold morning, 
put all the men on the qui vive. The zorillo somewhat 
resembles a brown and white fox, with an enormous tail 
sticking up into the air like a flag ; his smell is dreadful, 
the lady tells us. Pell-mell after the beast rushed the 
men, some on foot, others on horseback ; some carrying guns 
or pistols, some with little in the way of weapons save sharp 
knives. The zorillo led the hunters a rare chase, uphill, 
downhill, over torrent, doubling, winding, feigning death 
occasionally. But the brute appeared to have a charmed 
life ; it seemed bullet-proof. At last it was wounded in 
the paw, and stopped as if done for. The pursuers, in 
high glee, rushed forward to seize their prey, sure of 
getting it ; but, to their mortification, the animal slipped 
them among the long grass, above which his tail showed 
conspicuously, as if in mockery, and he was lost in the 
fog. 

While the men plied their sport, the ladies had their 

64 



THE HOT SPRINGS OF CUINCHO 

excitement, as they stood at some distance. An immense 
wolf loomed out of the mist, and trotted close up to the 
ladies. Needless to say, they set up a loud scream, with 
one accord calling on the gentlemen for help. The cry 
was too much for the wolf, luckily, for he went off with a 
rush. 

A visit to the hot springs of Cuincho, amidst wild and 
striking scenery, brought an adventure of a different kind. 
The ladies were left to enjoy their bath, the mules to be 
brought for them at a later hour. The bath proved 
delicious, the water being at almost exactly the same 
temperature as the body. The bathers were very loth 
to come out of the spring, but as they had nine leagues to 
travel before nightfall, to the town of Pascuaro, they were 
compelled at last to do so. To their surprise the mules 
had not arrived, and to while away the time of waiting the 
ladies strolled among the hills in the neighbourhood. 
It began to grow dusk ; the ladies were both alarmed and 
hungry, but still no sign of the mules. Just as it became 
dark, however, there arrived an escort of twenty-three 
lancers, with a Captain at their head ; they had been sent 
by the Governor, to accompany the travellers on the 
remainder of their journey. It was too late to travel any 
more that day, in a trackless and mountainous country, 
and the best had to be made of the situation. The 
Captain and others of the men caught a tough old hen and 
put it into a pot to boil for the ladies. Then a little clean 
straw on the floor of an outhouse furnished a bed for the 
high-born dames. The cold, the mosquitoes, and other 
animals, prevented anything like sound sleeping, however. 
They were very eager to kick off the straw in the early 

65 E 



UNPLEASANT COMPANY 

morning, and get on their way again, escorted by the 
lancers. On the road they learnt strange things from the 
peasantry. That night, it appeared, had been a most 
active one with the robbers. Two mules had been carried 
off with their cargoes, the drivers being left tied to trees ; 
in another case a woman had been robbed, and bound hand 
and foot. The ladies began to have many misgivings as to 
the fate of their own mules and their drivers. Presently 
they came up with the missing party, who, having lost 
themselves on the previous evening, had stayed for the 
night at a little settlement in a valley. It was abundantly 
clear that they had only just missed falling into the hands 
of the robbers. 

The united party, still under the protection of the 
lancers, received an awkward and a disagreeable addition to 
their numbers, at Pascuaro, namely, a couple of notorious 
mountain robbers, who, fast bound, were given into the 
custody of the lancers to be taken to Uruapa, for execution. 
One of these was Morales, whose lawless and ferocious deeds 
had long been the terror of the country. This fellow's last 
crime had been so horribly atrocious that even the Indians, 
who all along had refrained from betraying him, had 
grown disgusted. They had suddenly seized Morales and 
one of his men, and had carried them to the authorities at 
Pascuaro. A speedy trial had resulted in the death 
sentence for the two, and now a favourable oppor- 
tunity of sending them on to the place of execution, 
Uruapa, had come. So Madame de la Barca and her com- 
panions had to put up with unpleasant company for a 
time. 

The robber leader was a typical brigand chief. Says 

66 



A TYPICAL BRIGAND CHIEF 

the lady, " he was equal to any of Salvator's brigands, in his 
wild and striking figure and countenance. He wore a 
dark-coloured blanket, and a black hat, the broad leaf of 
which was slouched over his face, which was the colour of 
death, while his eyes seemed to belong to a tiger or other 
beast of prey !" For years this fellow had been the captain 
of a band of nearly a hundred mountain robbers, the 
terror not only of all travellers and villagers in the district, 
but also even of the camps of Indians themselves. The 
amount of plunder taken by this gang reached a prodigious 
figure altogether, whilst the most horrible crimes of other 
kinds had been committed, the barbarities often being too 
shocking to relate. It was this lawless band that Madame 
and her friends had providentially escaped, through the 
accident which had detained them for the night at the hot 
springs. Now the rascals had lost their leader for ever. 
No wonder the lady says she never saw such a picture of 
fierce misery as Morales. His companion was a miserable 
tattered wretch, his face livid with fear. 

Across the wildest of wild countries the cavalcade made 
its way, through dark woods, down almost perpendicular 
precipices, over dashing river and swollen torrent, along 
mountain flank, and down into deep ravine. Madame de 
la Barca could not take her eyes from the wretches whom 
every step brought nearer the place of execution. The 
two were chained together by the leg, and marched on 
foot, under the guard of five of the soldiers told off for the 
purpose. More than once she caught the eye of Morales, 
and she knew that, even in that desperate situation, he was 
ever watching for some opportunity of making at least a 
mad dash for liberty. Once, indeed, she suddenly saw his 

67 E 2 



NIGHT IN A BARN 

face assume such a look, his eye " glaring with such a 
frightful expression that, forgetful of his chains, I whipped 
up my horse, in the greatest consternation, over stones and 
rocks.'" The place and the look in the eye of the brigand 
were in perfect unison. The whole scene was "horribly 
beautiful." The defile was deep and dark, with a pro- 
digious amount of vegetation, which, however, with all its 
profusion, was unable wholly to conceal the fearful crags 
and precipices met with in every direction. 

It was found impossible to reach Uruapa that day, and 
a halt for the night had to be made at a wretched Indian 
settlement on the way. Nothing better than an old barn 
offered itself as a shelter for the ladies. It was not exactly 
a pleasant lodging, for the barn was built of rough logs, 
with innumerable chinks and holes by which the keen 
mountain air could enter. Outside was a drove of pigs, 
who were constantly thrusting their snouts through the 
interstices between the logs, keeping up a loud if not 
harmonious grunting and squeaking the while. In this 
miserable hole the ladies had to dispose themselves to 
sleep as best they might. The soldiers made a fire outside, 
but quite near the barn, and sat round it. Madame could 
not help peeping through the cracks at the face of the 
robber, Morales, who, with his companion in chains, sat 
with the soldiers. The countenances of the two haunted 
the lady through the night. But that was not all. In 
addition to the grunting of the pigs, the singing of the j 
mosquitoes presently began, while the piercing blasts blew 
in at every chink. The party were up betimes, it needs 
not to say. What was their horror when they found 
under what conditions they had slept! Abo ve their heads, 

68 



THE VOLCANO JORULLO 

in a crack between the logs of the barn, a whole nest of 
scorpions was discovered, their tails twisted together ! 
"Imagine the condition of the unfortunate slumberer," 
cries Madame, " on whose devoted head they had descended 
en masse C 

A magnificent view of the volcano Jorullo was obtained 
from many of the points of vantage along the route pur- 
sued, and our travellers were eager to pay a visit to that 
romantic and notorious peak. But the road was described 
as being impracticable, and, moreover, as being without 
shade, so that the journey thither would be insupportably 
hot, and the ladies were compelled to abandon all hope of 
reaching the spot. They learnt a good deal of the volcano, 
however, which as yet was less than a century old. Its 
birth took place in the year 1759, being heralded by 
earthquakes for three months previously. Then, suddenly, 
the ground heaved, and " a terrible eruption burst forth, 
which filled all the inhabitants with astonishment and 
terror, and which Humboldt considers one of the most 
extraordinary physical revolutions that ever took place on 
the surface of the globe. Flames issued from the earth for 
a space of more than a square league. Masses of burning 
rock were thrown to an immense height, and through a 
thick cloud of ashes, illuminated by the volcanic fire, the 
whitened crust of the earth was seen gradually swelling up. 
The ashes even covered the roofs of the houses at forty-eight 
leagues distance, and the rivers of San Andres and Cui- 
tumba sank into the burning masses. The flames were seen 
at Pascuaro ; and from the hills of Agua-Zarca was beheld 
the birth of this volcanic mountain, the burning offspring 
of an earthquake, which, bursting from the bosom of the 

69 



LOST IN THE DARKNESS 

earth, changed the whole face of the country for a con- 
siderable distance round."" 

On their way back to Mexico the ladies could not resist 
the temptation to bathe once more in the hot springs of 
Cuincho, taking care this time to retain their mounts and 
servants in the neighbourhood. Yet even now they had 
some small adventures. They stayed in the water so late 
that it was dark before they could reach Morelia, for which 
place they were bound. The fear of meeting robbers was 
less than it had been while Morales still remained Captain 
of the brigands. But " the horses, being unable to see, 
took enormous leaps over every streamlet and ditch, so 
that we seemed to be riding a steeplechase in the dark. 
Our gowns caught upon the thorny bushes, and our 
journey might have been traced by the tatters we left 
behind us. At length we rode the wrong way, up a stony 
hill, which led us to a wretched little village of about 
thirty huts, each hut having ten dogs on an average, ac- 
cording to the laudable custom of the Indians. Out they 
all rushed simultaneously, yelping like three hundred 
demons, biting the horses' feet, and springing round us. 
Between this canine concert, the kicking of the horses, the 
roar of a waterfall close beside us, the shouting of the 
people telling us to come back, and the pitch darkness, I 
thought we should all have gone distracted. We did, 
however, make our way out from among the dogs, re- 
descended the stony hill, the horses leaping over various 
streamlets that crossed their path, turned into the right 
road, and entered the gates of Morelia, without further 
adventure, between nine and ten o'clock." A late hour 
for ladies to be out amongst wild mountains, and at the 

70 



LOST IN THE DARKNESS 

mercy of the robbers that might be left, for the escort of 
soldiers was not now at hand. But Madame de la Barca 
was not only a charming writer — that is seen in a moment 
from a peep into her letters — she was also a plucky and 
adventurous lady. 



71 



CHAPTER VI 

ALBANIAN MOUNTAINEERS 

Western side of Turkish peninsula not well known — Mr. E. 
Spencer, an English traveller — The denies of the Drin — A 
world split into shivers — Dangerous bridges and blindfolded 
horses — The guide Stefa — A mountain inn — Crowded with 
armed rebels — Angry scowls — A judicious present — "His 
Serene Highness the Ingleski Bey " — Peace and friendship — 
A break-neck ride — An appalling hurricane — Berat, on the 
summit of a rock — In the company of a troop of Albanian 
insurgents — A terribly difficult country — Berat in a panic — 
Preparing to withstand the attack of the rebels — Spencer on 
the road to Avlona — A miserable night above a wild torrent — 
All the mountain passes seized by the rebels — Terrified flight 
of officials and citizens from Avlona — Approach of rebels — 
Soldiers prepare to defend a little hamlet — Two rusty cannon 
— Spencer in a hayloft, to watch the fight — A useless parley — 
Cannon brought to bear — One bursts, the other will not ignite 
— All up with the soldiers — They chum with the rebels — 
Departure of the whole to Avlona — The risks of the " Ladder" 
— A bad snake bite — The Englishman as surgeon — Fording the 
Scharkos — Spencer pulled off his horse by a frightened Jew — 
Four men in the boiling torrent — Gallant rescue of a Bey by 
Spencer — The use of a lock of long hair — An attack by water- 
fowl — An extraordinary adventure. 

The western side of the Turkish peninsula is a district of 
mountain and stream, of towering precipices intersected 
by fertile valleys, inhabited by picturesque and often law- 
less and turbulent peoples. In this country, chiefly in the 

72 



AN UNEXPLORED DISTRICT 

classic Albania, wandered Mr. E. Spencer between the 
years 1845 and 1850, meeting with many adventures, such 
as would be sure to befall so enterprising and daring a 
traveller in such a land. Even in our own day, the district 
is not well known to the rest of Europe, but in those 
earlier Victorian times the collections of small states and 
their half-wild folk were almost as great a mystery to the 
majority of civilized people as the interior of Africa itself. 
There were no roads, and the country was an uncom- 
promisingly difficult one to traverse ; there were few 
guardians of the law ; and there were brigands in plenty. 

Mr. Spencer left the defile of the Drin, in the course of 
his cross-country journeyings, and began to ascend the 
opposing mountain. The ascent was very steep, and the 
only way up was through a cleft in the rocks, a torrent 
running down it in the rainy seasons. It was ticklish work 
to steady the horses in their progress up this rocky trough. 
Grand oaks overhung the track, but, in the absence of 
roads, the timber was useless to the inhabitants of the 
country. The mountains were broken up in an extra- 
ordinary way by deep clefts and wild gorges, as if an 
earthquake had split the world into shivers. Often, 
indeed generally, the only way of crossing was by frail 
wooden bridges, from the planks of which the eye looked 
down in alarm on an " abyss beneath frightful to behold. 
To cross one of these, without any railing or support, 
required no little nerve ; yet, if we could divest ourselves 
of the fear, so natural to man, knowing that the slightest 
false step hurls him to destruction," there is, in reality, no 
more danger to be dreaded than if the bridge crossed a 
mere rivulet. The traveller, however, goes on to tell us 

73 



A MOUNTAIN INN 

that not one of his horses would cross such a bridge 
unless he were first blindfolded, and then led across by a 
man he knew well. 

The guide, Stefa by name, had a great dread of spend- 
ing the night out on the open mountain-side, ever fearful 
lest they should fall a prey to bear or wolf, or, worse still, 
bandit, all of which prowled about those rugged mountain 
lands. The Englishman, on his part, knowing only too 
well the numbers and the pertinacity of the insect tribes 
in the Turkish inns, preferred to bivouac under the 
open canopy of heaven. Sometimes they fared worse by 
going into the haunts of men than if they had camped in 
some lonely gorge. One of the mountain hans, or inns, 
they found crowded by men armed at all points, under the 
command of their rebel chief, Julika. A single look was 
sufficient for Stefa, and, indeed, the angry scowls of the 
insurgents were enough to frighten a stouter heart. The 
guide's "ghastly features and trembling limbs " proved 
how great was his terror in the presence of those wild 
mountaineers. His master hastened to put all his valu- 
ables into the hands of the innkeeper for safe custody, 
realizing the situation at once. He then sent the shiver- 
ing Stefa to the rebel crowd with a handsome present of 
first-rate tobacco and right pungent snuff. Stefa pre- 
sented these with many a respectful salute, and stated 
that they came from his master, " His Serene Highness 
the Ingleski Bey." This manoeuvre at once brought the 
Englishman into the good graces of Julika and his men, 
and the rebel chief himself hobnobbed with the stranger 
for the rest of the evening. On parting, Spencer gave his 
new friend a pair of pistols, and Julika responded by 

74 



AN APPALLING HURRICANE 

presenting him with a beautifully- worked poniard. It 
was not only as a weapon of defence that this latter had 
its value. " Preserve this as a talisman," the rebel chief 
enjoined him, for the sight of the poniard would ensure 
peace and protection at the hands of any of Julika's hardy 
adherents — a numerous band, and widely scattered among 
the mountains. The Englishman had come well out of 
what had seemed at first a fatal trap. 

One day, after " a break-neck ride of some hours up a 
pathway carried along the precipitous sides of a mountain 
some thousand feet high," in the midst of the grandest 
scenery, the setting of the sun was accompanied by the 
outburst of the most violent storm the traveller had ever 
seen, which frightened even the experienced dwellers among 
the Albanian mountains. The suddenness of it was 
astonishing and startling. In a moment or two it grew 
intensely dark ; the wind howled through the trees, and 
then burst into a perfect tornado. Forked lightning 
" flashed above, now around, and again beneath us, light- 
ing up an unfathomable abyss, succeeded by peals of 
thunder reverberating from rock to rock, and from moun- 
tain to mountain, with a deafening crash, as if Nature, in 
convulsive cataclysms, was sinking into chaos, while the 
rain poured down as if from a waterspout." With great 
difficulty, and no little danger, the travellers struggled on 
for a space, the terrific gusts almost sweeping man and 
beast down the awful precipices below, till at length they 
were lucky enough to find shelter under a big overhanging 
rock, where they sat out the hurricane with what patience 
they could. 

When our traveller was approaching Berat, a place 

75 



BERAT 

of importance, standing picturesquely on trie top of a huge 
rock, and always in command of a Turkish officer of rank, 
the disturbed state of the country so distressed and 
alarmed Stefa, that he refused to go on, unless in the 
company of another body of wayfarers. As luck would 
have it, up galloped a well-mounted party of Albanian 
insurgents, and with these the Englishman and his servants 
went for some distance. These fellows turned aside near 
the town and left Spencer to enter the place with his men. 
A curious sight met the stranger's eyes. The Governor, 
in preparation for a strong attack that he had heard 
the rebels were about to make on Berat, had ordered the 
citizens to bring all their valuables up from the lower 
town to the citadel. Men and women were struggling 
to pull huge trunks up the perpendicular cliffs of rock by 
the aid of ropes, the women vainly attempting to keep 
their yashmaks over their faces the while. Fat and lazy 
citizens were tugging at big burdens, for want of a 
sufficient supply of porters. Up in the citadel itself there 
was a large and motley crowd, camping out in any avail- 
able spot, their goods around them. The fear patent in 
every countenance was ludicrous to the Englishman, but the 
situation was alarming enough for the townsmen. The 
Governor had had his score of cannon planted so as to 
command the passes leading to the town, but also so as to 
be unseen by any who approached. Stefa was frightened 
almost out of his senses. 

As it fell out, the Governor was sending two hundred 
men to occupy the road leading to Avlona, and with these 
Spencer and his following travelled on. The way lay 
through the defiles of Mount Scrapari, and there the 

76 



ON THE ROAD TO AVLONA 

Englishman looked about him with no little apprehension. 
Had the rebels appeared then, the Governor's troops 
might have been annihilated in a few minutes. Spencer 
began to wish himself in other company. The night was 
miserably spent at a wretched mountain inn overhanging a 
wild torrent. In the morning the reports ran that Julika 
had secured every mountain pass in the district ; that he 
was on his way with a very large following to seize 
Avlona ; and that he might be expected at any moment. 
Stefa, now more than ever alarmed, insisted on taking 
himself and his horses back to Berat. The Englishman, 
not to be thwarted in his wishes to go on to Avlona, 
sprang suddenly upon his steed and galloped off in the 
direction of that town. The unfortunate guide, tortured 
between the fear of losing his animal and his almost 
greater dread of the rebels, was constrained to follow his 
master. The ride to Avlona, enlivened by Stefa's wild 
cries and bitter reproaches, came to an unexpected end, 
however. 

" After riding for about half an hour, we met a cavalcade 
of horsemen, accompanied by a troop of the kavaas 
(police), galloping furiously, as if followed by a host of 
demons. We afterwards learnt that this was the Governor 
and the principal officers of Avlona, who, on the first 
intimation of danger, had left the town to its own resources, 
and made their escape to Berat. They were speedily 
followed by another cavalcade of the citizens, who, with 
doleful countenances, assured us that Avlona was already 
in possession of the insurgents."" There was nothing for it 
but to go back to the wretched inn and the troops, which 
Spencer did with a very bad grace. 

77 



DEFENCE OF BERAT 

After this events marched rapidly. The rebels were 
seen to be approaching, and the soldiers planted their two 
rusty cannon, and disposed themselves to defend the spot. 
Our Englishman, a non-combatant, was yet determined to 
see all he could. He mounted into a hayloft, removed a tile 
or two, and had the whole view in front of and below him. 
A laughable scene followed—Spencer found even the most 
dangerous situation laughable — the rebels without, who 
mustered in strong force on the shelving sides of the 
mountain, were not to be drawn within reach of the guns, 
and the defenders inside dared not sally out upon the 
enemy. A few ineffective shots were fired on both sides, 
and thus the day wore on. It was plain the rebels were 
only waiting till darkness to cross the torrent and fall on 
the camp, and the panic-stricken defenders saw this, and 
sent men to parley with the foe. Nothing came of the 
conference, and the commander of the troops prepared to 
take decisive measures, dragging out his two rusty cannon. 

"These dreadful implements of war were quickly har- 
nessed, and, with lighted matches, the tacticoes (soldiers) 
commenced their march, when lo ! a party of well-mounted 
cavaliers, who seemed to rise out of the hills, bore down 
upon them with a horrible yell. The cannon were brought 
to bear upon them, but, alas ! one burst and the other 
would not ignite ! All was now over with the tacticoes^ 
and, to save their lives, they fraternized with the rebels, 
allowing their officers to be made prisoners. The victorious 
party, with shouts of triumph, firing of guns, and brandish- 
ing of weapons, now poured into the village, where they 
remained a short time refreshing themselves, and then, 
reinforced by two hundred muskets and ammunition, 

78 




Awkward Allies 

One of the cannon refused to ignite and another exploded, leaving the soldiers 
at the mercy of the enemy. 



ASCENT OF THE LADDER 

continued their march to Avlona." Mr. Spencer in his 
hayloft, and Stefa, probably well hidden somewhere else, 
were thus suddenly relieved from all fears of a violent 
death, which had seemed to await them in the earlier part 
of the day. The Englishman, for all his light-heartedness, 
was very thankful, and confessed that he had had a narrow 
escape. 

At a later stage of his travels the " Ingleski Bey " was 
in the neighbourhood of Mount Ergenik, where a certain 
terrible ascent was well called by the natives the Scela, or 
ladder. It was a frightful place, especially at one spot 
where a sudden bend gave a sight of the river roaring far, 
far below. A jutting crag a little farther on seemed to 
put an end to the passage altogether, but, by edging 
cautiously along a narrow ledge which they found, the party 
managed to round the obstruction. Their troubles were 
not yet over, for a huge mountain mass next appeared, 
right in front, seeming to preclude all further progress. 
But a narrow cleft was spied in the rocks, wet and slippery 
with the spray from a racing little torrent, and up this 
the horses had to struggle. Fortunately, no slip occurred, 
or it would have been certain death for both animal and 
rider. 

Travellers in out-of-the-way places have often to act as 
surgeons, and Mr. Spencer was no exception. Camping 
one evening in some ruins, which they found in a wild 
spot, no inn being available, the men neglected to make a 
fire — a mistake in such a place. One of them, a Jew, 
spreading his carpet on the ground, was badly poisoned by 
a snake, such as are often found about old ruined buildings. 
The wound was evidently a very dangerous one, and the 

79 



A BAD SNAKE-BITE 

Jew's case seemed desperate. But the Englishman was 
fortunate enough to have attended lectures by the great 
surgeon, Sir Astley Cooper, and at once applied his know- 
ledge. Bandaging the damaged finger tight above the 
wound to prevent the poison from being carried by the 
blood into the system, he anointed it with sweet oil, 
dosing the patient at the same time with the spirit known 
as raki. A plaster of salt and gunpowder completed the 
cure, to the intense delight of everybody. 

But this Jew would seem to have been a most unlucky 
person. It was necessary to ford the Scharkos, a rapid 
and dangerous torrent, full of holes and rocks. In order 
to keep their legs from getting wet, the men all crossed 
them on their saddles, while the horses struggled over. 
As ill-luck would have it, the Jew was perched high, 
having a good deal of merchandise beneath him ; conse- 
quently, when the passage was in progress, he swayed 
about a good deal. At last, full in mid-stream, he sud- 
denly clutched the Englishman to keep himself from 
falling. In a moment both the men were thrown headlong 
into the turbulent stream, the Jew yelling lustily. The 
noise and the splash startled two of the other horses, and 
in an instant their riders, also, were struggling in the 
water. One of these, Hadji, was carried off his feet and 
borne rapidly down the torrent. He was only saved by 
the gallantry of a fellow-servant, Pietro by name. The 
other unfortunate was a Bey, and he was so heavily 
encumbered with his load of weapons — gun, sabre, pistols, 
and the like — that he was in bad case. 

The Englishman, after coming to the surface, gazed 
eagerly around to see how his brethren fared. He grasped 

80 



FORDING THE SCHARKOS 

the situation at once. Telling the Jew to hang on to his 
horse's tail and he would be dragged in safety to the other 
bank, he went to the help of the Bey. " Lo !" he says, 
"all I beheld was a long lock of hair floating on the 
surface of the water. This revealed to me the danger of 
the unfortunate Bey, who had fallen into a hole and was 
struggling for life. To seize his hair and roll it tightly 
round my arm was the work of an instant, and thus, 
drawing him after me, I had the satisfaction of conveying 
my half-drowned companion to dry land." Many jokes 
did the Englishman make on the usefulness of the lock of 
long hair which the Prophet had enjoined all his faithful 
to wear. But as for the Jew, the rest of the party would 
not have him at any price. They regarded him as the 
cause of all their mishaps, and refused point-blank to 
travel further with him. So Ben Isaac had to go on his 
way alone. 

A very singular adventure befell Spencer and his man at 
another place. There was a vast hollow among the 
mountains, which was filled with a huge bog. The bog 
was tenanted by incredible numbers of aquatic birds of 
every kind. The report of the gun fired at one of these 
birds brought about a tremendous commotion among the 
feathered occupants of the marsh. The sound of the gun 
reverberated far and wide among the mountains, and 
instantly the air was darkened by dense clouds of birds. 
Then, strange to relate, great masses of these bore down 
upon the intruders with the utmost determination and 
anger. The din was deafening, and, seeing the hostile 
intent of the birds, Hadji, the servant, became terribly 
alarmed. He thought his last hour had come, and, 

81 F 



ATTACK BY WATERFOWL 

muttering a hasty prayer, with a doleful " Amaan ! 
amaan !" he threw himself under his horse's belly for pro- 
tection against the attacks of the winged thousands. Mr. 
Spencer took a more practical view of the situation and 
fired again, dispersing the enemy. But only for a few 
moments. With the keenest zest the birds returned 
again and again to the attack, till at last, as the traveller 
whimsically says, "I had expended as much powder as 
would have sufficed to storm a Turkish garrison."" But 
the fowls were strangely persistent, and never left the men 
a minute's peace till they had seen them fairly off the 
premises. 

Spencer notes two good things that came out of this 
strange attack : First, the tremendous flapping of wings 
removed all the steamy heat from the valley, making the 
air deliciously cool ; and next, the expenditure of gun- 
powder resulted in such a stench that it drove away 
entirely the hordes of mosquitoes which had before made 
the place intolerable. Hadji's profound thankfulness 
caused his master much amusement. It is quite possible, 
however, that the two men, had they been without 
weapons of any kind, might have fared badly among such 
myriads of winged enemies, some of them of great size and 
undoubted courage. 



82 



CHAPTER VII 

THE ROBBER REGION OF THE MEXICAN MOUNTAINS 

A typical scene in the mountains of Mexico — Mr. Bayard Taylor, 
an American traveller — Curious and disconcerting experiences 
— " They are demons !"— Hostility of El Chucho, the dog- 
Hordes of hungry insects — Approaching the " robber region 
— Many warnings to the traveller — All unheeded — The two 
Indians on the lonely mountain track — Offer to carry the 
traveller's blankets — Suspicions aroused — A fresh cap on the 
pistol — The hint is enough — The little town of Magdalena 
among the hills — ' ' Don't you want a guide ?" — A lonely ravine 
— Suddenly covered by a double-barrelled musket — Horse and 
man led down into the thickets — Stripped, searched, plundered 
— i( How is it you have no more money with you ?" — All taken 
save horse and papers — A struggle with bonds — ' ( The India- 
rubber man " — Three robbers on a gibbet — A ghastly spectacle 
— A military station met with — A policy of masterly inactivity 
— Cold and exposure at high elevations — A raging toothache — 
Horse quite knocked up — Arrival in another den of thieves — 
A kindly padre — Safe in the capital at last. 

" I climbed up to the grand Barranca, a tremendous chasm, 
dividing two sections of the tableland. Two thousand feet 
below, at the level of the Tierra Caliente, lay a strip of 
Eden-like richness and beauty ; but the mountains which 
walled it in on both sides were dark, sterile, and savage. 
Those opposite to me rose as far above the level of the 
ledge on which I stood as their bases sank below it. Their 
appearance was indescribably grand . . . the road descend- 

83 F 2 



CURIOUS EXPERIENCES 

ing to Plan de Barranca, a little village at the bottom of 
the chasm, is built with great labour along the very verge 
of giddy precipices, or notched under the eaves of crags 
which threaten to topple down upon it. The ascent of 
the opposite steep is effected by a stony trail, barely large 
enough for two mules to pass, up the side of a wide crevice 
in the mountain- wall. Finally, the path appears to fail ; 
the precipice falls sheer on one side ; the bare crag rises 
on the other." 

Such is the description given by Mr. Bayard Taylor, 
the famous American traveller and writer, of a particular 
spot, typical of many others, among the Mexican moun- 
tains, a district traversed by him in the year 1849, when 
Mexico was for the most part a lawless country, and most 
insecure for travellers, especially those who ventured to 
penetrate to its remoter localities. 

Many were the curious experiences, and many the 
dangers he met with in so wild a land and amongst so 
lawless and reckless a population. It was in the days 
when not a few Mexican mines were yielding good supplies 
of silver ore, though in our own days many a one of those 
mines is represented, as the phrase goes, by "a big hole 
and a dead mule.'" Scores, nay hundreds, of idle scamps 
lived mainly on their plunderings ; the government was 
hopelessly incapable. Dirt, insect pests, inhospitality, 
fatigue, exposure, hunger, danger — all had to be endured 
by Mr. Taylor. Yet he nowhere exaggerates or unduly 
heightens things in his descriptions ; rather is he disposed 
to make light of the dangers and discomforts by his 
humorous way of telling his story. A few of his ex- 
periences among the mountains are worth recounting. 

84 



HOSTILITY OF A DOG 

On one occasion he was staying for the night at a rude 
hut. When bedtime came, a boy fetched from the loft a 
sort of woven cane frame. This was placed under the 
portico, and the traveller, tumbling himself upon it, was 
sound asleep in a couple of minutes. During the night he 
was suddenly aroused by a " scream like that of a hundred 
fieuds. The frame on which I lay was rocked to and fro, 
and came near overturning. I sprang up in alarm, finding 
my bed in the midst of a black, moving mass, from which 
came the horrid sound. It proved to be a legion of hogs, 
who had scented out a few grains of corn in a basket 
which had held my horse's feed, and was placed under the 
bed. The door of the hut opened, and the hostess ap- 
peared with a lamp. At sight of her, the beasts gave a 
hasty grunt, cleared the wall at one bound, and disap- 
peared. ' They are demons P shrieked the woman. 1 ' Mr. 
Taylor was disposed to think he would get another visit 
from the pigs before morning, but they did not molest his 
sleeping-place again. 

On another occasion^ when he was passing the night at 
a highland ranching station, one of the dogs took such a 
violent dislike to him that it was necessary to put the 
stranger to sleep on the top of a frail erection used for 
drying fruit. There, a dozen feet above the ground, he was 
safe enough from the attacks of the animal ; but all night 
long, at the slightest movement on the part of the traveller, 
El Chucho, as the dog was called, would set up a vile yell, 
the rest of the dog tribe howling in concert. At yet 
another place the people were most kind ; " but," says the 
traveller, " all the fleas in the village, who had been with- 
out sustenance for two days, pounced in upon me in 

85 



THE "ROBBER REGION" 

swarms. Added to this, every exposed part of the body 
was attacked by legions of mosquitoes, so that, with such 
enemies without and within, I never passed a more terrible 
night." 

But such experiences, though annoying and tiresome 
enough at the time, were, after all, only incidents to laugh 
at. Soon, however, there were more serious things to be 
encountered. Taylor was, in fact, approaching the " robber 
region," as the district was designated by the Mexicans. 
Over and over again people expressed the utmost astonish- 
ment that he should dream of going all alone across to 
Vera Cruz. The Americans he met were especially loud 
and instant in their warnings. The Mexicans, they 
declared, were robbers to a man; a strangers life was 
rarely safe among the mountains ; and the hatred of the 
natives towards the Americans caused all strangers from 
the States to be subjected to continual insults, if nothing 
worse. But Mr. Taylor nevertheless went on his way in 
the best of spirits, determined to believe nothing of all 
this till he saw for himself. 

He had not long to wait ; presently he got a foretaste 
of what was to come later. He was pushing on one even- 
ing, his horse becoming more weary at every step, and as 
yet not a sign of a habitation to be discerned. Then two 
Indians, mounted on small horses, came down from the 
heights by a crooked path, and rode just in front of him 
for a considerable distance. 

a Are you not afraid to travel alone ?" one of the fellows 
presently asked. 

"What should I be afraid of?" returned the American 
coolly. 

86 



SUSPICIONS AROUSED 

" Why, the robbers." 

" Robbers ! I should like to see them." 

" Rather too bold," muttered the Indian. 

The two then began to pity the tired horse, and next 
praised the traveller's blankets. One of these blankets 
they were soon trying to beg, and that failing, to buy. 
At last, as a new plan, they offered to carry the blankets 
behind their own saddles. All in vain ; the American 
would not trust his property out of his own hands. The 
Indians trotted on, but at the next bend in the path 
Taylor found the fellows waiting for him. This kind of 
thing happening two or three times, the traveller's sus- 
picions became aroused. So he calmly took his pistol out 
of his pocket, put on a fresh cap, and held himself in 
readiness for whatever might arrive. His coolness, doubt- 
less, saved him ; the rascals were certainly watching him 
through the trees, for suddenly they started off at full 
gallop, and were seen no more. 

But Taylor was soon to have an experience of a much 
more serious kind, unfortunately for him. His horse, on 
reaching the brink of the grand Barranca, spoken of in 
the first paragraph of this narrative, had had enough of 
it among the hard hills and thin air of those lofty regions, 
and a halt was made for the night at an inn at Mochitilte, 
an immense building, standing up among the gaunt hills 
like a big fortress. It was a wretched place at which to 
stop, being bare, dismal, and comfortless. The wind was 
more than chilly, and Mr. Taylor was glad to cover himself 
with his horse's blanket. 

He slept soundly enough, and was off again by the time 
the sun showed himself above the horizon. The way led 

87 



"DON'T YOU WANT A GUIDE?'' 

up, and ever up, for league after league, till he had 
reached a great height, and had got himself entangled 
amongst the wild, bare mountains. Then he dropped 
down to the little town of Magdalena, lying at the foot of 
a glen, and there breakfasted. "Don't you want a guide?" 
asked the landlord of the inn as the traveller prepared to 
start again. " The road is full of robbers."" And the 
man went on to explain that every traveller took a guard 
as far as Tequila, paying each man of his escort a dollar. 
The proposal did not commend itself to Mr. Taylor, who 
made answer that he was not afraid of robbers, and, not- 
withstanding the host's warning that he would certainly 
be robbed if he started alone, the American set off. 

Soon after leaving the town he met a company of a 
hundred soldiers, who were in charge of some fifty mules 
laden with precious ore from the mines. He was not 
sorry to see them, judging that the presence of so strong 
a force of soldiery in the district would frighten off the 
robbers. He needed all the confidence this thought gave 
him, for soon the road entered a narrow pass, with any 
number of twists and turns. There, at the bottom of a 
dry watercourse, nearly twenty feet deep, the traveller 
plodded on for three leagues. In this very ravine, his 
friend, Lieutenant Beale, had been chased by robbers only 
the year before. Not a soul was encountered now. 

A startling change of scene next presented itself. Sud- 
denly the pass came to an end, and there, far below him, 
lay the town of Tequila. Just beyond the place rose the 
"stupendous bulk of a black volcanic peak." Down an 
almost impossible rock-wall his animal stumbled to the 
town. The locality had an evil reputation, and so little 

88 



A LOCALITY OF ILL REPUTE 

did the traveller trust the folk that he stood by till his 
animal had eaten his feed of corn, to keep off pilferers. 
After dark he hardly ventured to stir out of doors. He 
slept scarcely at all, being almost devoured by the fleas. 

A singular occurrence next morning set him pondering. 
It was at a miserable little hill settlement, at no very 
great distance along the track. He gave the woman of 
the house a Mexican dollar to pay for some light refresh- 
ment he had had. The woman took the coin to the shop 
to change, but presently brought it back, saying it was a 
bad one. A second coin was similarly reported on. When 
the same tale was told of a third dollar, Taylor lost all 
patience, and refused to produce another. As he passed 
the shop on his way out of the hamlet, a little group of 
dirty and disreputable-looking fellows, who were drinking, 
offered him wine, which he declined, whereupon one of the 
rascals shouted after him, " It is the last time. 1 ' It was 
not till later that Taylor came to see the meaning of all 
this : the people of the place were desirous of finding out 
whether the traveller were a rich man or no. 

Before noon he found himself in a dreary and lonely 
spot on the spur of a volcano. Here he dropped into a 
rugged defile, with a deep ravine or gorge on the right. 
He could not help thinking what a place this would be for 
robber operations, and that he had better load his pistol. 
" Scarcely had the thought passed through my mind " — to 
quote the traveller's own words^-"when a little bush 
beside the road seemed to rise up. I turned suddenly, 
and, in a breath, the two barrels of a musket were before 
me, so near and surely aimed, that I could almost see the 
bullets at the bottom. The weapon was held by a ferocious 

89 



ATTACKED AND CAPTURED 

native, dressed in a pink calico shirt and white pantaloons. 
On the other side of me stood a second, covering me with 
another double-barrelled musket, and a little in the rear 
appeared a third. I had walked, like an unsuspecting 
mouse, into the very teeth of the trap laid for me.'" 

So suddenly and so quietly had all this taken place that 
the traveller for a moment or two sat still in his saddle, 
hardly taking in the situation, in spite of the hissed com- 
mand of the first robber: " Down with your pistol !" The 
summons was repeated, this time more fiercely, and the 
two muzzles were brought nearer to his breast. By this 
time Taylor was fully alive to what was meant, and he at 
once threw down his pistol, and got off his horse. The 
fellows, keeping their victim well covered the while, picked 
up the fallen weapon, and commanded the owner to bring 
his beast along. Down into the gorge they led the way, 
for about a quarter of a mile, and away from the regular 
track. Here they halted, in a copse of bushes and tall 
grass, perfectly screened from observation from the moun- 
tain road. One of the fellows lay in ambush above, to 
keep watch over the path. 

All the rest now levelled their guns, and a more timid 
man than Mr. Taylor might have been excused if he had 
thought his last hour had come. But the American had 
confidence that he would somehow come out of his diffi- 
culties alive. His main feeling was one of shame and 
disgust that he had allowed himself thus to be trapped. 
However, he began to strip at the command of the gang, 
throwing off his coat and vest with the words, " Take what 
you want, but don't detain me long" The leader of the 
robbers, the fellow in the pink shirt, eagerly snatched up 

90 




Caught in a Trap 

A ferocious native rose up suddenly and aimed his musket straight at me. In a moment 
two others did the same ; so, at their hissed command, I was compelled to throw down my 
pistol. ' 



A STRUGGLE WITH BONDS 

the coat, and began to examine the pockets. The look on 
the man's face was a study when he found that the purse 
in one of the pockets contained but a very few dollars, and 
Taylor smiled inwardly, as the phrase goes. 

" How is it you have no more money with you ?" the 
scoundrel asked angrily. 

" I don't own any more,'" was the traveller's reply. 

At Taylor's earnest request the papers were left him, 
the leader saying they were worth nothing to them. 

All this time the unfortunate wayfarer had been made 
to lie face downwards ; but now, taking the hunting-knife 
they found upon him, the robbers held it above his head, 
and threatened to strike if he moved. His hands were in 
a moment tightly bound together behind his back. The 
fellows were evidently experienced hands at their trade. 
His blanket was spread on the ground, and into it the 
robbers proceeded to put everything at their leisure. A 
miscellaneous assortment of goods was soon piled up — 
money, thermometer, papers, card-case, drawing-pencils, 
oranges, cigars, a bag of ammunition, and even a piece of 
soap, an article the Mexican cut-throats had probably 
never used in their lives ! They left the owner his papers, 
as has been said, and one cigar to console him after they 
had departed. 

Their examination continued, and certainly might be 
described as thorough. They took off his boots and stock- 
ings, and searched carefully every article he possessed. 
There remained only the horse, and the robber leader asked 
sarcastically whether they should take that also. But 
Taylor plucked up courage and energetically demanded 
that they should leave him his beast, without which he 

91 



ESCAPE 

could not proceed on his way. Making no reply, the 
fellows walked away, leaving the animal behind. The 
leader, however, turned back after a few yards, and, throw- 
ing down an orange and a small cake or two, remarked : 

" Perhaps you may get hungry before night." 

" How am I to eat it without hands ?" indignantly asked 
Taylor. 

But the robber departed with the pleasant remark : 

"We have more to carry than we had before we met 
you. Adieu P 

Here was the traveller, in a lonely thicket at the bottom 
of a deep ravine, far from the usual mountain track, that 
track itself for the most part an unfrequented one amongst 
the wild mountains. He had lost his all, his papers and 
his horse excepted. He was tightly bound ; but he was a 
man of resource and courage. As soon as his assailants 
had got out of sight, he began to attempt to free himself. 
Long he pulled, and tugged in vain, for he was tied with 
many knots, and the knots were tight. All the while he 
had an odd fancy that his horse was laughing at him. 
How he freed himself at length he thus describes : 

" After tugging a long time, I made a twist which the 
India-rubber Man might have envied, and, to the great 
danger of my spine, succeeded in forcing my body through 
my arms. Then, loosening the knots with my teeth, in 
half an hour I was free again. As I rode off I saw the 
robbers at some distance, on the other side of the ravine."" 

Taylor rode rapidly on — as rapidly, that is, as the 
rugged nature of the mountain-track would allow. At 
the end of about three miles he came upon a startling 
spectacle. There stood by the wayside a rough gibbet, 

92 



A GHASTLY SPECTACLE 

on which hung in chains the half-decayed bodies of three 
robbers. The clothing was dropping in tatters, and the 
bones protruded from the bodies. Over their heads was 
an inscription in large letters : " Thus the law punishes 
the robber and the assassin." It was a ghastly sight, and 
one that might have tried the nerves of even the boldest 
of travellers, under the circumstances. Around were 
several grave-mounds. Later on Mr. Taylor learnt the 
history of these graves and the gibbet. Some eighteen 
months before, there had been a camp of soldiers and 
traders on the spot. They had been attacked by a large 
body of robbers, and a tremendous fight had taken place. 
Eleven of the traders had been killed in the affray. This 
seems to have been too much even for the Mexican 
authorities of those days, and a hunt was made, with the 
result that three of the scoundrels were caught, and 
received the reward of their deeds on the very spot where 
their victims had been buried. Mr. Taylor could not but 
rejoice that some of the rascals at least had met with their 
deserts. 

A league or two farther on the wanderer came upon a 
military station — La Venta. There were plenty of soldiers 
about. In one place there were thirty or forty together, 
rolling about lazily or playing idle games in the shade. 
Taylor promptly reported his adventures in the mountains 
to the commanding officer, and furnished such close de- 
scriptions of some of the robbers as would serve easily to 
identify them. Naturally, the American imagined that 
immediate steps would be taken to hunt for and bring to 
justice the rascally gang ; he did not know the Mexican 
ways thoroughly as yet. The officer merely shrugged his 

93 



SUFFERING AND EXHAUSTION 

shoulders, and neither said nor did anything by way of 
response. The traveller rode on disgusted. As he 
remarks : " A proper distribution of half the soldiers who 
lay idle in this guard-house would have sufficed to make 
the road perfectly secure/' 

The traveller hurried on, full of indignation. His 
horse was showing signs of fatigue, but higher and higher 
he mounted, till the air became very cold and a keen wind 
swept the mountain track. The robbers had left him little 
of his clothing, and both man and beast were in pitiable 
case. Taylor was distracted with a raging toothache, and 
his horse staggered along, exhausted by fifty miles of toil- 
some mountain-road that day. Nevertheless, it was neces- 
sary to push on to some settlement that night, and the 
master had to urge on his unfortunate beast with a thick 
stick. When at last the poor brute stumbled into the 
town of Guadalajara, he was so spent that another mile 
would probably have finished him altogether. 

Everybody whom Taylor met in the town stared at him 
and his horse in astonishment. They were evidently sur- 
prised beyond measure that a solitary traveller should 
venture to cross their mountains. Much talk under the 
breath went on among the folks. At last, a good old padre 
came near and whispered in the traveller's ear : " Begone ! 
What business have you to stop and listen to us ? Guada- 
lajara is full of robbers. You must be careful how you 
wander about after night. Do you know where to go ?" 
Finding that the traveller was a complete stranger to the 
place, the kindly old man directed him to a house where 
the people were honest. They were more than honest, 
and they sympathized greatly with the unfortunate 



SAFE AT LAST 

wanderer, but marvelled that his life had been spared. 
Taylor passed a night of suffering from toothache and fleas, 
but, at any rate, he was safe. His troubles were almost 
over, and before many more days had passed he was in 
the Mexican capital. 



95 



CHAPTER VIII 

BIG GAME IN THE CASHAN MOUNTAINS 

A bit of splendid scenery — The Cashan Mountains in Southern 
Africa — Captain Cornwallis Harris, a keen sportsman — He and 
his men meet a band of Matabele warriors on the mountains — 
Savages insolent and hostile — A critical time — The Matabele 
and the Hottentot— "He found his tongue" — Other bands of 
savages met — Harris shoots a water-buck — Piet stumbles over 
a lion — Lions prowling around the camp all night — Lingap 
and his master — Three lionesses asleep — An infuriated rhino- 
ceros — "1 threw my cap at him" — A spotted hyena killed — 
More water-buck — Two miles barefooted over sharp flints — A 
white rhinoceros rushes the camp — ec A perfect panorama of 
game " — A buffalo charges on three legs — A splendid specimen 
— Hottentots gorged with flesh — A disgusting spectacle — The 
buffalo and the captain — A near thing — A tremendous fire — 
Whole district in danger — A lucky deluge — Every spark ex- 
tinguished — More hurricanes — Camp flooded — An elephant's 
footmark — A herd of elephants — A dam shot — A whole valley 
full of elephants — A sublime and soul-stirring picture — 
Manoeuvring — A parade of elephants pass the Captain — Leader 
shot — A scene of indescribable confusion — Three other herds — 
A whole troop crashes through the camp. 

"Here the scenery was beautiful. Three cascades fell 
brawling over descents of several feet within a quarter of 
a mile of each other, flanked by stately timber trees of 
splendid growth and graceful foliage, which, leaning their 
venerable forms over the limpid stream, were reflected on 
its glassy bosom. Huge isolated masses of rocks reared 

96 



A KEEN SPORTSMAN 

their stupendous heads at intervals, as though cast there 
by some giant hand in sportive derision of the current 
which foamed and bubbled round them. Upon the tops 
of these, cormorants were sunning themselves in hundreds, 
while scaly alligators were basking on the lower tiers, 
amid flowering bushes and evergreens. 1 '' 

Such was the kind of country to which Captain Corn- 
wallis Harris went in the year 1852. The gallant officer 
was no mean naturalist, but probably he would have 
called himself a sportsman merely. He was approaching 
the Cashan Mountains, which were destined to furnish 
him with enough excitements and dangers to last an 
ordinary man a lifetime. His keenness after game was 
extraordinary, and was surpassed only by his coolness 
at critical moments, and his utter disregard of risks and 
dangers. 

He and his men were at the foot of the Cashan heights, 
and were proceeding towards a rift or pass in the moun- 
tains, when suddenly there appeared a band of Matabele 
warriors, numbering several hundreds altogether. Now, 
these Matabele had just been engaged in plundering and 
murdering certain white men, so that when the host 
closed round the traveller's waggons in hostile fashion 
there was cause for no little alarm. The manners and 
the speech of the savages were alike insolent, as they 
fiercely ordered the drivers to stop, a number of men 
standing in front to bar the passage. The Hottentot 
servants of the Englishman were frightened almost out 
of their wits ; and when a number of wounded Matabele 
warriors were presently borne past on their shields, one 
of the Hottentots fainted right off. The situation soon 

97 G 



HOSTILE MATABELE WARRIORS 

became critical. None of the waggon party knew a word 
of the Matabele tongue except one gigantic fellow, Andries 
by name, and he, for some reason, made no attempt to 
help his master out of the difficulty. Every moment the 
crowd of savages pressed closer around, and some of them 
climbed into the waggons, where they turned over and 
examined every article. What was about to follow it was 
not hard to foresee. But suddenly there was a turn of 
fortune. One of the Matabele, a huge, brawny fellow, 
sprang upon Andries, who in his terror managed to 
stammer out a few words, to the effect that the English- 
man and his companions had just had the honour of being 
entertained by the King Moselekatse. Marvellous was the 
change in the attitude of the Matabele at the mention of 
the name of their King. In a moment they ceased their 
hostile demonstrations, and even became suppliants, begging 
humbly for tobacco and beads. 

This was not the only band of savages met that day. 
Parties great and small made their appearance from time 
to time, till before night the total must have reached six 
or seven thousand. Presumably the word had been passed 
round the tribes that the travellers were under the pro- 
tection of their King, for none of them disturbed the 
hunter and his men. A camp was made on the mountain 
near a streamlet, and the Hottentot servants began to 
fence it in, according to custom. While this was going 
on, the Captain went out with his gun, and was lucky 
enough to shoot a water-buck, a rare and splendid ante- 
lope ; he believed himself to be the only Englishman who 
had ever shot one of the species. It may be added, by 
way of parenthesis, that he managed to bring down two 

98 



LINGAP AND HIS MASTER 

more the next day. The noise of the report disturbed a 
lion and a lioness which happened to be close by, but the 
pair slunk into the jungle. On his return to the camp, 
he found that one of his men, Piet, had also been out to 
try his luck, and he had actually stumbled over a lion. 
It was evident that these beasts were particularly plentiful 
in the neighbourhood, and the leader gave orders that the 
fence should be strengthened. It was a lucky thing that 
this precaution was taken, for all night long lions were 
prowling about outside making efforts to get at the 
cattle. 

One of the best of the Captain's followers was Lingap, 
a good warrior with assegai and shield, and a good sports- 
man to boot. The master and he had an exciting time 
of it on the Cashan slopes the following day. The two 
men were looking down upon the skeleton of an elephant 
lying not far below, when Lingap suddenly pointed with 
his assegai to a bush, and whispered, " Tao !" (lions). 
And there, in truth, were three lionesses, all asleep. 
Lingap hid behind his shield, while Harris fired into the 
middle of the group, immediately afterwards springing 
behind a tree. Instantly the three animals leapt to their 
feet, and with angry roars dashed into the bushes. The 
men scampered in the opposite direction, not unnaturally. 
A few minutes later several shots were heard not far off, 
and then " an infuriated rhinoceros, streaming with blood, 
rushed over the brow of the eminence that we were 
ascending, and was within pistol-shot before we were 
aware of his approach. No bush presenting itself behind 
which to hide, I threw my cap at him, and Lingap, 
striking his buckler and shouting with stentorian lungs, 

99 G 2 



BIG GAME PLENTIFUL 

the enraged beast turned off. I saluted him from both 
barrels, and he was immediately afterwards overturned 
by a running fire from the Hottentots, every one of 
whom, I now saw, had left the waggons at the mercy of 
the oxen." 

Skirting the mountains in search of grass for the cattle, 
the hunters found the big game more plentiful even than 
before. The night was hideous with the horrid moaning 
sound of the hyena, the dismal yelling of the jackal, and 
the roaring of the lion. However, at early dawn Harris 
was astir, and managed to get a little revenge on his 
disturbers, bringing down a spotted hyena. He was 
presently following hard after a water-buck, when the sole 
of one of his boots came off. Nothing daunted, and 
heedless of thorn and rock, he dashed along barefoot for 
more than two miles, the ground thickly strewn with sharp 
flints. He secured his buck, and then made for the 
waggons, which were moving on towards their next 
stopping- place. Just before he overtook the waggons an 
immense white rhinoceros, roused from his snooze, dashed 
furiously at the first of the vehicles, crashing noisily 
through bushes and reeds, and snorting loudly. The 
oxen were half mad with fear, but a volley from the 
drivers saluted the aggressor, and he turned away into the 
scrub. He was promptly followed and dispatched. 

But Captain Harris had long been wanting to reach the 
vast elephant grounds, and he made all the advance 
he could each day. At last the desired territory was at 
hand, and eagerly he pushed on ahead, taking with him 
Piet, and leaving the Hottentots to bring up the rear. 
A fine roan antelope rose before the hunters, but they 

100 




An Unwelcome Intruder 

An infuriated rhinoceros, streaming with blood, rushed towards the waggons 






> 



t 



f 



THE BUFFALO AND THE CAPTAIN 

refrained from firing. A pair of white rhinoceroses next 
appeared on the mountain slope directly in their way. 
These brutes they had a good deal of difficulty in getting 
rid of. They did not wish to make any noise as yet. 
But the procession of wild animals was by no means at an 
end. Presently a herd of wild swine, with whip-like tails 
erect, came trooping along, and they were followed by two 
buffaloes. " It was a perfect panorama of game," the 
Captain exclaims, and difficult he found it to keep his 
followers from firing. The thing was bound to come 
sooner or later, and it did. Suddenly a loud report rang 
out from some of the Hottentots behind, and instantly 
there was confusion in the covert. A whole herd of 
buffaloes appeared, and dashed helter-skelter past. Harris 
could no longer contain himself, but fired, wounding one 
of the buffaloes in the hind-leg. The hunter immediately 
mounted his horse, but not too soon, for the buffalo 
charged on three legs. Two or three times did the 
wounded beast return to the attack, and Harris had an 
exciting time of it. At last he managed with a well 
aimed bullet to bring down his quarry. The buffalo was a 
splendid specimen, standing sixteen and a half hands at 
the shoulder, while " his ponderous horns measured four 
feet from tip to tip, and like a mass of rock, over- 
shadowing his small, sinister grey eyes, imparted to his 
countenance the most cunning, gloomy, and vindictive 
expression. " 

Leaving his Hottentots to gorge themselves on the 
flesh — always a disgusting spectacle, the Captain tells us — 
he mounted to the top of the hill, from which point of 
vantage the view far and near was of the most striking 

101 



A TREMENDOUS FIRE 

and extensive character. He marked a big herd of 
buffaloes quietly chewing the cud under some trees. His 
first shot brought down one, but the loud report, rever- 
berating among the mountains, alarmed the whole herd. 
Fifty of them, panic-stricken, and crushing everything 
underfoot in their mad stampede, made straight for the 
hunter, and he was within an ace of being trampled to 
death. It was the narrowest escape. His waggons had 
been moving on, but, seeing by the smoke where his men 
had pitched the camp for the night, he bent his steps 
towards the spot. A spectacle to create loathing and 
disgust it was that met his eyes. His followers were 
absolutely intoxicated with the gorging of much flesh, and 
perfectly incapable of any sensible action or behaviour, 
while the ground around, and the bushes, looked like 
nothing but a filthy slaughter-pit. 

Nor was this all that angered their master. In their 
senseless folly the Hottentots had set fire to the surround- 
ing grass and bush, and already the blaze had become 
alarming. For hours before he went to bed Captain 
Harris sat on the heights watching the progress of the 
flames below — a splendid spectacle — as the fire rushed 
along, devouring everything on its course. But he began 
to fear for his prospects of game if that enormous confla- 
gration should spread over the whole district, a thing it 
appeared likely enough to do. There was only one hope : 
a storm was coming up rapidly. The night was dark I 
and gusty. Presently thunder sounded among the 
mountains, vivid forked lightning was seen, and a few 
preliminary drops of rain fell. Meanwhile "a strong 
south-east wind, setting towards the hills, was driving the 

102 



CAMP FLOODED 

devouring element with a loud crackling noise up the steep 
grassy sides in long red lines, which, extending for miles, 
swept along the heights with devastating fury, brilliantly 
illuminating the landscape and threatening to denude the 
whole country of its vegetation. Suddenly the storm 
burst over the scene. The wind immediately hushed ; a 
death-like stillness succeeded to the crackling of the 
flames. Every spark of the conflagration was extinguished 
in an instant by the deluge that descended, and the 
Egyptian-like darkness of the night was unbroken even 
by a solitary star." 

Next afternoon, the camp, having moved on a few miles, 
was pitched under the shelter of an overhanging hill-side, 
another hurricane having been observed approaching. 
Hardly was the camp arranged, when " a stream of liquid 
fire ran along the ground ; and a deafening thunder-clap, 
exploding close above us, was instantly followed by a 
torrent of rain.'" The rain came down in continuous 
streams, and soon horses and oxen were knee-deep in water. 
The men in the baggage waggons, which leaked, passed a 
bad night ; luckily for him, the Captain's own waggon- 
cover was water-tight. But sleep was out of the question for 
master as well as man. " The earth actually threatened to 
give way under us ;" and so vivid and blinding was the 
lightning, that he was glad to cover up his eyes with his 
pillow. The results were seen when daylight came : the 
torrents were swollen and impassable, and the only path 
onwards, an exceedingly narrow pass in the mountain-side, 
was full of surging water. 

Leaving the floods below, Harris took with him some of 
his men, and ascended the heights in search of elephants. 

103 



AN ELEPHANT'S TRACK 

Long had he been wanting to reach their feeding-grounds. 
He gained the highest peak, and gazed around. Not far 
away he came across the mark of an elephant's foot ; it 
was of enormous size. Eagerly he measured the impression, 
and then made his calculation, " twice the circumference of 
the foot always giving the height of the animal at the 
shoulder." He found that this particular beast must 
boast a height of twelve feet, which the hunter believed 
to be the maximum for an African elephant. A tramp 
of eight miles along the crest of the mountain was 
required, however, before a sight of the herd could be 
seen. There, for the first time in his life, the English- 
man saw the elephant in his own home. " With intense 
and indescribable interest " the men looked down at 
the sight, while the gigantic Andries, with straining 
eyes and quivering lips, stammered out, "Dar stand de 
olifant r 

The men now went round to drive, with much rattling 
of shields, the elephants towards the master. All uncon- 
scious of the presence of an enemy, the animals slowly 
walked in Harris's direction, and soon a report made the 
hills resound. The first of the herd fell, and the rest of 
the elephants — they were all females — fled up the mountain 
slope at an incredible speed. Mounting their horses, 
the hunters made for the wounded dam. She was furious, 
and in spite of the sharp rough stones that cut her feet, 
she made for the aggressors. She was received at each 
charge she made with a volley, and at length the poor 
brute fell dead, causing the very ground to shake with the 
thud. 

The Captain had now time to gaze about him a little 

104 



VALLEY FULL OF ELEPHANTS 

more. He found himself, to his surprise, looking into a 
second valley, whose existence he had not previously noted. 
The sight that met his eye was one to beggar description, 
to use a common phrase. " The whole face of the land- 
scape was actually covered with wild elephants. There 
could not have been fewer than three hundred within the 
scope of our vision. Every height and green knoll was 
dotted over with groups of them, whilst the bottom of the 
glen exhibited a dense and sable living mass — their colossal 
forms being at one moment partially concealed by the trees, 
which they were disfiguring with giant strength ; and at 
others seen majestically emerging into the open glades, 
bearing in their trunks the branches of trees, with which 
they indolently protected themselves from the flies. The 
background was filled by a limited peep of the blue moun- 
tain-range, which here assumed a remarkably precipitous 
character, and completed a picture at once soul-stirring 
and sublime." 

What was to be done in the presence of all this marvel- 
lous abundance of majestic game ? Harris was very anxious 
to see whether there were any males amongst the enormous 
herd, and he sent Andries to manoeuvre amongst the beasts. 
The man contrived so that a large number of the elephants 
filed slowly in front of the master, who had placed himself 
in a position of advantage on a little ledge above. All 
that paraded proved to be females or calves. Harris could 
have killed any one of them had he been so disposed, but 
he was waiting for the males. Things were precipitated 
before long, however, by the firing of a gun by some 
blundering native in the vicinity. Instantly the whole 
concourse of animals was on the move. Hardly had the 

105 



A SCENE OF CONFUSION 

men time to get themselves behind the trees before a score 
of elephants with their young ones were upon them, filling 
the air with their loud trumpetings. With the utmost 
deliberation Harris steadied his rifle against the tree, and 
dropped the leading elephant instantly. In a moment the 
other animals rushed upon their assailants, and the men 
had a risky time of it, dodging behind trees, flying pell- 
mell over the rough stones, and ever and anon running 
right up to some group of the infuriated beasts. The 
scene of confusion that was witnessed, the hunter in his 
fearless way, calls amusing, but it was about as dangerous 
a position as could well be imagined. However, after 
some time of this hurly-burly, all the animals got clear 
away, except the dam that had been shot. To it Harris 
and his man once more made their way, and put the 
creature out of its misery. 

The two men now made tracks for the camp — that is to 
say, they began the search for it, being quite ignorant as 
to its whereabouts. In the course of their wanderings 
they encountered no fewer than three other groups of 
elephants, one of them obstructing their line of route. 
They chased the herd for a mile over the roughest and 
sharpest of stones. " Much has been said," writes the 
Captain, " of the attachment of elephants to their young, 
but neither on this nor on any subsequent occasion did we 
perceive them evince the smallest concern for their safety. 
On the contrary, they left them to shift for themselves."" 
The natives assegaied one calf that was left behind in the 
flight. The last of the three herds was not encountered 
till the hunters were near their waggons. On being dis- 
turbed, the whole troop rushed down below, and crashed 

106 



A FATIGUING DAY'S WORK 

right through the camp, " causing indescribable consterna- 
tion amongst cattle and followers. But, fortunately, no 
accident occurred, and after the fatiguing day's work 
we had undergone, we were not sorry to find ourselves 
at home." 



107 



CHAPTER IX 

WITH GALTON IN DAMARALAND 

Where is Damaraland? — Mr. Francis Galton, scientist, explorer, 
sportsman — Lands at Walfisch Bay — Proceeds towards the 
mountain region — Damara villages and Damara folk — A 
covetous crew — Tactless Gabriel — The rhinoceros-hide whip on 
the chief's legs — Startling result — Mount Erongo — Galton 
feverish — A hill " built by Cyclopean architects " — Risky paths 
— The hut of a Damara chief — Hand-to-hand combat with a 
lion — Lion balked of his supper — Waggons and <e sticking- 
points " — A bit of clever wall-building — The Hottentot re- 
bellion — Galton beards the rebel chief in his stronghold — A 
plenipotentiary in hunting costume — Want of water — Native 
disappears with the iron pot — 111 with too much water-drinking 
— A novel water-vessel — " Tastes very doggy " — A fine collec- 
tion of mountains in sight — The black fellow and the adder — 
Galton and the green snake — A hasty jump — Horrible water to 
drink — The terrible thorn-bush — Progress stopped by it alto- 
gether — Strayed oxen and their recovery — Damara cattle- 
stealers — The black chief in his severity — Men assegaied — The 
white chief more merciful — A sound flogging. 

Damaraland, which lies inland to the north-east of Walfisch 
Bay, on the west coast of Africa, is a country of mountain 
and plain, of scrub and rough ground, and of streams that 
often do not run, but are mere dry river-beds. Some of 
its heights are lofty, reaching an elevation of at least six 
thousand feet, though many of them are only about half 
that height above sea-level. It was to this land, then 

108 



DAMARA VILLAGES AND FOLK 

almost unknown to the civilized world, that Mr. Francis 
Galton, the eminent scientist and explorer, made his way 
in the year 1851 . 

Working eastwards from the coast, he bent his course in 
a more northerly direction, towards the mountain regions 
of Damara. He had with him two or three other 
Europeans, including Mr. Andersson, a Swede, and a 
servant named Hans Larsen, besides a varied following of 
natives of one kind or another, oxen and waggons. Start- 
ing from the valley of the River Swakop, he found the road 
very stony and very bad, but the party presently reached 
an upland Damara village, the inhabitants of which 
evidently had doubts about receiving the strangers. How- 
ever, after a good deal of explanation Galton and his men 
were allowed to rest, and were supplied with some milk. 
Midday saw the travellers among a second lot of Damara 
folk, and they found that the headman of the village 
always took charge of the explorer's cattle for the time 
being, not much to the owner's liking. Nor did he feel 
altogether easy in the midst of throngs of armed savages, 
many of whom were ill-looking scoundrels. "They always 
crowded round us," he says, " and hemmed us in, and then 
tried to hustle us away from our bags and baggage. 
They have an impudent way of handling and laying hold 
of everything they covet, and of begging in an authoritative 
tone, laughing among themselves. It is very difficult to 
keep them off, and the least show of temper would be 
very hazardous among such a set of people." Yet the 
explorer admired the build of the Damaras, and calls them 
a fine-looking lot of fellows. 

Quite early in his exploration of the highlands, Mr. 

109 



TACTLESS GABRIEL 

Galton and his party were in a position of very serious 
danger. One of the servants of the expedition, a lad 
named Gabriel, was of a very passionate disposition, and 
utterly reckless. His master was greatly afraid lest 
Gabriel should involve the party in a squabble with the 
natives by his quarrelsomeness and his entire want of 
tact. " If fighting had once commenced, 11 says Mr. Galton, 
" we should have been as full of assegais as St. Sebastian 
ever was full of arrows, and our guns would have availed 
but little. 11 The Damara fellows were crowding round 
and doing their best to tease the strangers, and with so 
much inflammable material about, it would have been a 
marvel if no blaze had broken out. Gabriel it was, of 
course, who struck the spark. One of the native dogs 
began to gnaw a leather bag, and Gabriel flew after him 
with his rhinoceros -hide whip. The brute retreated to his 
master, the Damara chief. Gabriel followed, and struck 
out savagely with his whip, missing the dog, and giving a 
tremendous slash across the chief's legs! "Another instant 
and Gabriel was prostrate, while the chief, like a wild 
beast, glared over him ; the muscle of every Damara was 
on the stretch. Every man had his assegai. My gun lay 
by my side, but I had sense enough not to clutch at it. 11 
Galton^ splendid self-command had its effect at length, 
and the black chief allowed Gabriel to get up, taking 
away from him his whip, however, as a punishment. Even 
that he gave up before the strangers left, so well did 
Galton manage to soothe the angry passions of the man. 
But the scene might have had a different and a terrible 
ending. 

The mountain Erongo was just above them, the escarp- 

110 



RISKY PATHS 

ment of which ran on for a length of fifteen miles ; the 
height Mr. Galton roughly calculated to be something 
under three thousand feet. The top was more or less flat, 
but there was a sort of rent in the middle, as if the moun- 
tain had been partly split in two. Towards this depression 
the leader and one or two of his men prepared to climb, 
the rest remaining at the foot of the mountain with the 
oxen and waggons. Next morning Galton sent some 
natives on in advance to announce the arrival of strangers 
to the people there — it was a wide table-land — and to ask 
for guides. He himself was in a state of incipient fever, 
and lay down all the morning under the grateful shadow 
of an overhanging rock. In Damara generally there is 
a sad want of shade. He found the mountain to be com- 
posed of enormous white rocks, " often hundreds of feet 
without a fissure — the hill seemed built by some Cyclopean 
architect.'" A good deal of the time the men had to 
climb without their shoes to prevent slipping. " When we 
travelled along the side that sloped towards the fissures it 
was very nervous work, for my feet would not grasp the 
rock, and if I had tumbled I should have explored much 
more of the mountain than I desired. The measurement 
of these slabs is not in feet, but in hundreds of feet." 
The climb was worth the trouble, however. There were 
fine views from the top, and the air was deliciously cool to 
the explorer's throbbing head. He would much have 
liked to make the place his summer quarters. 

He visited the hut of the local chief while on Erongo. 
It was a very superior sort of residence for those parts, and 
had even some furniture, a stuffed ottoman being con- 
spicuous in one of the rooms. The chief was quite a 

111 



COMBAT WITH A LION 

gentleman, and very affable. But he would not sell the 
stranger any cattle, and to obtain some had been one 
object Mr. Galton had in view when he climbed the 
heights. Further, the black chief declared that he was 
unable to furnish any guides, his men being afraid to 
venture far away. Moreover, he was not the sole lord of 
the mountain, but shared his power with two or three 
other chiefs. He had a very pretty daughter, who was 
also a thorough coquette, and wore a shell dangling from 
her front hair; this she could throw over either eye at 
her choice, the performance being very dexterous and 
very effective. 

When the Englishman reached the foot of Erongo 
again, he found that there had been lively times during 
his absence. First, Mr. Andersson had had an exciting 
brush with a lion. He had been on one side of a bush 
and the animal on the other — rather too close a proximity. 
Before the beast could come to closer quarters, its growls 
were silenced by a well-aimed bullet from the Swede. 
This might be styled almost a hand-to-hand encounter. 
When night had closed in, a still more striking scene had 
been witnessed. On the opposite side of the stream by 
which they were camping, a lion was observed to attack 
and kill a giraffe. At once the whole community turned 
out, every man carrying a fire-brand. Without hesitation 
the natives ran straight up to the dead giraffe, frightening 
off the king of beasts. Then, by the light of torches, for 
it was pitch dark, the fellows coolly cut up the flesh. All 
the time the lion kept prowling around, baffled and noisy ; 
but, though he kept close at hand, he dared not attack 
those who were robbing him of his supper. 

112 



WAGGONS AND STICKING-POINTS 

Mr. Galton's experience of travelling with the bulky 
and cumbrous ox-waggons was not at all a happy one, 
and he never liked the business, from the first day he had 
of it to the last. The progress with them was slow and 
hampering ; the oxen were often very troublesome ; there 
was no proper road ; the country was rough in the extreme, 
especially now the travellers were entirely in the mountain 
regions, with lofty peaks showing on every side about 
them. Sometimes the waggons stuck in the numerous 
rifts and trenches, and it required hours of labour to 
extricate them from their position. On one occasion 
" the sticking-point was a deep sand-pitch, of about six 
feet high, out of the river-bed. The oxen drew the waggon 
till its fore- wheels reached the top of the pitch, and there 
it stuck. We tried everything, but the pull was entirely 
beyond their power; indeed, they were far too wild to 
exert themselves together. It really seemed as though we 
should remain fixed there till the oxen had been thoroughly 
broken by other means, or till the river swept us away." 
And it was not till Mr. Galton had carried out an ingenious 
but laborious plan that the waggon was hoisted out of the 
hollow. He first pinned the front wheels in their position 
near the top of the pitch, so as to prevent back-slipping ; 
then, levering up one of the hind-wheels with a pole, he 
placed a big flat stone beneath. The other hind- wheel 
was treated in like fashion, and then a second stone was 
placed under each. Thus the process went on, till at last 
a regular wall had been built beneath the two back wheels, 
and they had been elevated to the level of the fore- wheels. 
A vigorous pull now set the waggon on its way again; 
but its position, tottering on the top of those slab walls, 

113 H 



THE HOTTENTOT REBELLION 

must have been precarious, to say the least of it, and it 
was a marvel that no catastrophe occurred. 

It was at the time of the Hottentot rebellion under 
Jonker, whose fastness was not far away, that Mr. Galton 
was travelling in Damaraland, and he had been asked by 
the Cape Government to act as a sort of informal com- 
missioner. He was to endeavour to see the rebel leader, 
and administer to him a severe rebuke, pointing out the 
enormity of his misconduct, and the extreme displeasure 
with which it was regarded by the authorities. It was a 
ticklish appointment, but the unpaid commissioner pre- 
pared to do his duty. He donned his red hunting-coat, 
his jack -boots, his cords, and his hunting- cap. Thus 
arrayed, and mounted on his spirited ox, Ceylon, he made 
an imposing figure. The way to Eikhams, where Jonker's 
stronghold was, lay over very uneven ground, and the j ourney 
involved the climbing of a lofty mountain. Hans knew 
the place, however, and was able to point out Jonker's 
hut when Eikhams was reached. There was great excite- 
ment among the commissioner's followers as the journey 
neared its end, and even Ceylon caught the infection, and 
began to sniff the air like a war-horse. Just before the 
place was reached, there came an obstacle in the shape of a 
little torrent. if It was rather deep, and four feet wide ; 
but I was in hunting costume, and I am sure Ceylon knew 
it, for he shook his head, and took it uncommonly well. 
In fact, oxen, if you give them time, are not at all bad 
leapers. The others followed in style." Ceylon trotted 
straight to Jonker's hut, and there stopped short, his 
head and horns blocking the entire doorway. The ap- 
parition of the Englishman in his gaudy hunting dress — ■ 

1U 



WANT OF WATER 

the like of which assuredly no man of those regions had 
ever seen before — produced an immense effect, not only 
upon the whole settlement, but upon the rebel chief 
himself. As Galton, glaring down upon him from the 
height of his saddle, rated the man in grand and telling 
style, Jonker dared not once look him in the face. The 
commissioner went on to insist on an immediate stop 
being put to the state of rebellion, on a full apology to 
the proper quarter, and on justice being done to the 
Damaras, whom Jonker had treated so badly. All this in 
the very heart of the rebel stronghold, to the very face of 
the chief himself, and surrounded by the armed and law- 
less rebel following ! 

Much hardship was often caused by the want of water. 
On one occasion the expedition was in sore straits, 
having had nothing to drink for a considerable time. 
They had with them, indeed, no vessel capable of holding 
liquids, except an iron pot. The Damara servants were 
quite spent, and one of the natives, who carried the iron 
pot, dropped exhausted by the wayside, while one or two 
more fell farther on. At night the rest, who had travelled 
on, came to a supply of water, and in their delight drank 
and drank till they were ill. " I continued resolving to 
drink no more," writes the explorer, " and then rewarded 
my resolution with one more mouthful. One cannot help 
drinking ; the water seems to have no effect in quenching 
the thirst." They waited for a day in order to see if any 
of those who had fallen tired by the way would make their 
appearance, but nothing was seen of them. When the 
waggons moved on, it was very desirable to carry a little 
water, for it was doubtful if any more would be reached 

115 H 2 



NOVEL WATER- VESSEL 

that day. But the difficulty was to find anything capable 
of holding water ; even the iron pot was lost to them. In 
his extremity Mr. Galton bethought him of a useless dog 
he had, and the animal was killed and skinned. The skin, 
sewn up, made a water- vessel of a sort, but, as the master 
tells us, the contents tasted very doggy ! Strange to say, 
the death of the poor cur was speedily avenged, for that 
very night a pack of wild dogs came upon the camp and 
killed every sheep the expedition possessed ! To crown all, 
the only two goats belonging to the party had strayed 
away in the night, and were lost. Nevertheless, the 
journey had to be resumed ; but when a halt was made for 
the next night, to the astonishment of everybody the 
missing native turned up, the iron pot still on his head ; 
what was more, he drove before him the two lost goats, 
which he had met with on his way. The black brought 
his master " a whacking big stick," as a matter of course, 
with which to beat him for having strayed away from the 
rest of the party ! 

Other mountains were visited on the march, such as 
Eshuameno. while still more peaks were seen around. 
u In front rose the two magnificent cones of Omatako, 
each appearing as perfect as Teneriffe. To the far left 
were many broken mountains, some of which must look 
down upon Erongo. More northerly lay the long escarp- 
ment of another Ghou Damup mountain, Koniati ; and to 
the westward of north a very distant blue hill was seen, 
which had to be passed on our way to Omanbonde." It 
was near this place that one of the servants began to 
make a fire under a bush ; when he suddenly started up in 
dire alarm and made off at full speed. He had noted a 

116 



GALTON AND THE SNAKE 

puff-adder in the bush. It was here, too, that the 
travellers saw the first herd of wild animals, over a 
hundred hartebeest being observed in one place, and four 
hundred gnus not far away. Another bit of excitement 
was caused by the appearance of an animal that Andersson 
thought to be a puma. Of this animal the natives often 
spoke. They described it as being a good deal like a lion, 
but smaller. It was said to be very shy, and seldom seen 
by anybody. Mr. Galton thinks it might have been a 
young lion. 

Another mountain, Omuvercoom, brought the travellers 
fresh experiences and excitements, and new dangers, of 
course. The oxen were left below with some of the 
Damaras, while the leader and the rest of his followers 
proceeded to climb to the summit. Some parts of the 
hill Mr. Galton declares to have been the most rugged 
he ever climbed. " I was utterly blown, and had just 
mounted up on a kind of natural step, when, while I was 
balancing myself, I found that I had put my foot on the 
tail of a great dark green snake, who was up in an instant, 
with his head as high as my chest, and confronting me. 
I had, though used up with my run, just sense and quick- 
ness enough left to leap over the side of the rock, and came 
with a great tumble among the bushes. The snake, too, 
came over after me, I can hardly suppose in chase, because 
he did not follow me when we were at the bottom together; 
but I ran after him a long way, for I was not hurt, throw- 
ing stones at the reptile. A Damara, who was some way 
behind, was carrying my gun, and I had not even a stick." 

Two of the greatest plagues to the explorer were the 
want of water, of which something has already been said, 

117 



THE TERRIBLE THORN-BUSH 

and the prevalence of the terrible thorn-bush. Of the 
water, the explorer says it would be a waste of time to 
enlarge on some of the horrible stuff they had now and 
then to drink. A shallow pond of only a few yards 
in diameter may have had wild animals by the score 
splashing about in the water for hours, and rolling to their 
hearts' content. The stuff looked, and in fact was, 
exactly like farmyard drainage. Yet this was all the 
luckless men had at times to depend upon. Then the 
thorn-trees : they grew worse and worse as the expedition 
proceeded, and at last threatened to put a stop to all 
further progress. Not an ox would face the thorns. 
Indeed, a single bush terrified them almost out of their 
wits, and the animals plunged and tossed, and threw their 
harness into confusion. The whip was quite useless, and, 
in fact, it made matters worse. So mad and vicious were 
the oxen that their drivers dared not approach them. As 
for the men themselves, their clothes and hands were badly 
torn. One day the caravan laboured among these horrible 
bushes from eleven in the morning till dark. When the 
stop was made for the night not a blade of grass could be 
found for the poor beasts, and when morning came most 
of them had disappeared, not unnaturally. The blacks 
went off helter-skelter after the missing oxen, not even 
stopping to snatch a bite of breakfast before they started. 
While the men were absent the master made a little 
exploration of the country around, and found, to his great 
delight, that only two or three miles away there was a 
beautiful running stream, with plenty of grass about. 
Fortunately, the cattle were overtaken at no very great 
distance and brought back. 

118 



DAMARA CATTLE-STEALERS 

One of the Daraara chiefs, Kahikene by name, was more 
friendly than the rest, and an incident occurred in which 
he showed his disposition to behave well towards the 
Englishman. Some of the waggon-oxen were missing one 
morning, and on their spoors being followed, it was soon 
seen that they had been driven away by Damara men. 
Galton at once went to complain to Kahikene, and the 
chief promised to see to the matter immediately. Accord- 
ingly, he sent a gang of his men after the thieves. A day 
or two elapsed, but at length the searchers returned, 
bringing three out of the four cattle, the fourth, the lead- 
ing ox of the team, as it happened, having been killed. 
They also brought in six of the thieves. These culprits 
Kahikene proposed to hang in a row on the projecting 
branch of a tree. The Englishman protested that the 
punishment was more than they deserved, and pleaded for 
the lives of the fellows. To this appeal the black replied 
that though Mr. Galton might forgive them the theft, 
yet their chief must punish as he thought fit their dis- 
obedience to himself, and he sent the men away in 
custody. Four of them, Mr. Galton learnt later on, were 
assegaied ; the other two escaped, but one of them was 
caught again and brought to the explorer. The white 
chief, more merciful than his black brother, contented 
himself with giving the thief a sound flogging. 

[From "Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa," 
by Francis Galton, F.R.S. Ward, Lock and Co. By kind 
permission of Mr. Francis Galton. ] 



119 



CHAPTER X 

THE WILD HILL TRIBES OF NORTH AFRICA 

The Gerdebah range-Mr. Hamilton, an English traveller in North 
Africa-A wild and difficult country-His wanderings among 
the highlands-" Les Vesuves "-Arrival, in pitchy darkness, 
at Siwah— A wearisome cross-examination— Summoned to a 
meeting of sheikhs-A hostile crowd outside-Ordered to leave 
the place-A plucky refusal-The Mufti-AtUck by night on 
the Englishman's tents-A hairbreadth escape-He sends a 
servant to the sheikh Yusuf-Attack recommenced-Hamilton 
slips away from his tent under cover of darkness-Refuge m 
Yusuf 's house-A small cottage opposite assigned to him-A 
mob of wild fanatics from the outlying hills appears-Attack on 
empty tents-Letters to Viceroy and British Consul secretly 
dispatched-Hamilton a prisoner-Repeated shots into the 
prison-house-Threats and insults-Yusuf summoned for har- 
bouring a Christian-A violent attack on the prison-Yusui 
now shares imprisonment-His protestations and adjurations- 
Desperate situation for the two men-A furious gale from the 
south alarms the hillmen-They depart suddenly to Arab 
fastnesses-Some amelioration of prisoners' lot-Arrival ot 
cavalry from the Viceroy— A complete and ludicrous turning 
of the tables. 
Most people are aware that the African continent for 
the main part has high ground running near to, and more 
or less parallel with, the coast. This is true even of those 
shores which are washed by the Mediterranean. As a 
matter of fact, the elevations are not usually very great. 
Still, there are ranges of hills which figure on the maps as 

120 



A WILD COUNTRY 

M mountains." Such is the line of Gerdoba (or Gerdebah) 
Mountains, on the borders of Tripoli and Egypt. This 
is what an aforetime traveller in the district says of 
them : " These hills ultimately reach a considerable height. 
Journeying over such ground is singularly fatiguing. . . . 
They rise on one side in long gentle swells and fall 
suddenly on the other, forming an angle vertically of 
about seventy degrees, while eight or ten feet on this, one 
would say, the lee side, are perfectly perpendicular." 

It was in this country that a British traveller, Mr. 
Hamilton, spent some time more than fifty years ago. 
He was endeavouring to visit various spots of historic or 
antiquarian interest, and a difficult matter he sometimes 
found it, among those remote and semi -barbarous hill 
tribes. He was riding one evening in a bare and lonely 
valley, night coming on, and he himself at some distance 
from the rest of the caravan. A few words from his 
description of the locality will help to realize the sort of 
scene before him. " A ridge of round-backed sandhills 
forms the separation between the Little Gerdebah and 
the immense range of low dark hills and table-lands which 
here presents itself. A line of sandstone rocks, with nearly 
perpendicular sides, bounds the line of road, sometimes 
closing upon it, sometimes leaving a wide plain on either 
side. In the basins thus formed rocks rise frequently in 
the form of low truncated cones, generally in two steps, 
one rising from the other, so like diminutive craters, that 
in referring to this day's journey my servant always calls 
them g Les Vesuves.' " 

Twenty-six hours did it take to cross this range of 
highlands, and in the mornings and evenings the cold was 

121 



ARRIVAL AT SIWAH 

considerable ; even in the midday sunshine the thermometer 
was more than once found to indicate only forty-five degrees. 
Passing over Mr. Hamilton's explorations of various ruins, 
often fantastic in shape, of ancient temples and the like, 
we may follow him to the hill-oasis of Siwah. It was 
pitch dark, and it was only with difficulty his guide could 
make out the road. Soon, however, the traveller found 
his horse clambering up what seemed to be the face of a 
precipice; five minutes later he was riding among walls. 
The settlement had been reached, and presently he stood 
before the house of a sheikh. The official proved friendly, 
and courteously offered to assist the stranger in any way 
he could. He put Mr. Hamilton through a long and 
wearisome cross-examination, but in the end made arrange- 
ments for him to pitch his tents on a plain to the south of 
the town. On the left rose some limestone rocks, with a 
castle, formerly occupied by a garrison. The town itself 
stood on a big conical rock, the houses completely covering 
it, while to the west were other cliffs, with many caverns. 
These rocks were in places lofty. 

But troubles began almost at once. The stranger was 
summoned to the house of the sheikh Yusuf, and was 
received in a room open to the street. A great crowd 
was assembled outside, while seated on the floor round the 
room were several stupid-looking old men, whom Hamilton 
found to be the sheikhs of the place. Yusuf began a long 
speech, the gist of which was that the town council and 
the men of Siwah generally would not permit the presence 
of a Christian among them. Yusuf tried to soften the 
force of his announcement by calling the authorities 
fools. 

122 



THE MUFTI 

" They have no sense, no sense !" he shouted again and 
again. 

" They must learn sense, or buy it," was the stranger's 
plucky reply. 

And Mr. Hamilton went on to state that he was an 
Englishman, that he was inoffensive, that he was armed 
with a passport from a Sovereign whom even the Sultan 
Abdul Mejid himself would respect. He ended by throw- 
ing upon the sheikhs the responsibility of whatever might 
come as the result of their hostility and inhospitality. 

The Englishman at this point thought it wise to send 
for his revolvers, which he had left in his tent. Then, 
mounting his horse, he began to ride away through the 
crowd. At that moment the Mufti came up, and, at 
Yusufs earnest request, Hamilton stayed to describe to 
that great functionary the object of his visit to the 
country. The Mufti attempted to explain away the 
hostility of the townsmen, but was unable to deny that it 
existed, and to a serious degree. At this juncture one of 
the fellows in the street, who had from the first been most 
insolent, began to cry that the Christian should not be 
allowed to defile with his cursed presence the air of their 
blessed country, and that the best thing the stranger could 
do was to get himself out of the territory with all speed. 
The man went on to say that, not so long before, four 
hawajahs from Alexandria had come, and that they had 
been fired on and turned out of the place. 

"I'm not a hawajah," the Englishman boldly replied, 
" and I do not mean to run away." 

For three hours Hamilton stood his ground, but at last 
retired to his tents, his negro cook in mortal terror, since 

123 



HAMILTON'S TENT ATTACKED 

he had heard the townsmen declare that they were coming 
to attack the camp in the night. The master himself 
laughed at the servant's fears, and ate his dinner tranquilly 
enough. He had settled down comfortably to his pipe, 
when suddenly three shots were fired in quick succession, 
the bullets piercing the canvas of the tent and passing just 
over his head with a shrill whistle. Hamilton took very 
little notice of even a demonstration of this sort, thinking 
it was only meant as a rough joke to frighten him. He 
made a note of the incident and the time in his pocket- 
book, and then went to peer out of the door of his tent. 
The night was of pitchy blackness, and apparently all was 
quiet and still. The barking of a dog presently, however, 
told him that there were people about, all unseen though 
they might be. He now thought it best to send a servant 
into the town to tell Yusuf what had occurred. 

Directly the man had left the firing began again. Says 
the traveller : " I now began to think the affair more serious 
than I had supposed. I heard one gun hang fire close to 
my tent, and, turning, saw its muzzle pressed against the 
wall of the tent on the shadow of my head ; I therefore 
had all the lights put out, and went cautiously out to get 
a view of my assailants. The night was so black that this 
was impossible, but it also favoured my evasion. After 
counting eleven volleys, which gave me grounds to suspect 
that there was a numerous body of men in the date-trees 
to the right, I, with my servant, went up to the sheikh 
Yusuf 's house, abandoning the tents to their fate. Moving 
cautiously across the plain, which separated us from the 
town, and climbing the steep street which led to the house, 
we could still see the fire of the enemy's guns, and the more 

124 



REFUGE IN YUSUF'S HOUSE 

frequent flashes in the pan, to which we probably owed our 
escape. 11 

He met on the way the messenger he had sent to Yusuf 1 s, 
and the man reported that he had been unable to arouse the 
sheikh ; and, in fact, it required some vigorous blows with 
the butt-end of a gun to awake the sleepy elder. Hamilton 
related what had happened, and added that he was going to 
stay till the morning. Yusuf at once sent off some of his 
fellows to protect the camp. These men found that the tents 
had not been actually entered, but that they were full of 
bullet-holes. One shot had passed immediately over the spot 
where the Englishmen had been reclining ; had he been in a 
less recumbent position, he would doubtless have lost his life. 

Morning came at length, and then Yusuf assigned to 
the stranger a small house of three rooms, opposite to his 
own. One of the apartments was built out on the flat 
roof, and occupied a part of it, so that there was a sort of 
small terrace in front of the room. On this elevated spot 
Hamilton stood, to take in the view, when he caught 
sight of a large body of men on the plain below. There 
were, apparently, several hundreds in the company, and 
they marched with flags and camels to the tents. It soon 
appeared that the entire population of an outlying hill 
settlement had come forth against the Christian dog, 
bringing their beasts to carry off the plunder. 

The procedure of these rascals was curious. They found 
the tents closed, but believing that the Englishman and 
his servant were within, they dared not for a long time 
venture near. The fact was, marvellous descriptions of 
the wonderful weapons the stranger carried had been 
circulated about the town, and all stood in mighty dread 

125 



DIRE STRAITS 

of his puissance. It was not till some time after that 
one of the bolder spirits dared to open the door and peep 
into the tent supposed to be tenanted by the master. 
Meanwhile Yusuf had been in conference with his brother 
sheikhs, to whom he had represented that they would be 
required to replace tenfold any goods the Englishman 
might lose by plunder in their town. The result was that 
some of the authorities went down to the spot, and after 
some hours succeeded in dispersing the mob. Hamilton 
rode over to see the condition of the camp. He found 
everything in the utmost confusion ; but nothing had 
been taken away. 

By this time Mr. Hamilton saw that it was high time for 
him to get himself away from so hostile a people, if it were 
possible. He intended to go to the Viceroy of Egypt, 
and beg for an escort of cavalry with which to return. 
This was a plan more easily conceived than carried out. 
He found it impossible to procure camels for the journey. 
He then proposed to hire donkeys as substitutes, but 
Yusuf declared that without camels it was impossible to 
proceed across the intervening deserts. Even when, after 
a weary waiting, the stranger managed to procure three 
camels, the Mufti warned him against leaving the town, 
saying that he would undoubtedly be waylaid and 
murdered within an hour or two of his quitting the place. 

In these dire straits Hamilton tried another plan. He 
wrote a letter to Her Britannic Majesty's Consul- General 
at Cairo, requesting his interference and aid. It was 
with much trouble that he persuaded Yusuf to lend a 
messenger to take the letter, and the sheikh quickly 
repented of it. Luckily the man had by that time got 

126 



HAMILTON A PRISONER 

well on his way in the direction of Cairo. The commotion 
among the authorities of the place when they learnt of the 
dispatch of the missive was very great. They were 
feverishly anxious to know what the Englishman had said 
to the Consul. It was not till the messenger had got 
too far to be fetched back that Hamilton gave them any 
information on the point. 

The luckless traveller was now a close prisoner, confined 
to the little cabin opposite Yusufs house, and there he 
remained for some weeks. The time did not hang too heavily 
on his hands, he says, for there were excitements not a few. 
One evening four shots, fired at intervals into his house, 
kept him sufficiently on the alert. Another day a great 
mob assembled in arms and announced their intention of 
exterminating the Christian, and so ending the matter. 
The danger was somehow averted, and then a deputation 
of the elders came to suggest that Hamilton should go 
away in peace, looking over all that had taken place, and 
carrying no complaint to the Pacha. To this the prisoner 
made answer that his letter must be already in Cairo, and 
that consequently all talk about not complaining to the 
Pacha was useless. Then Yusuf was summoned before the 
magistrates to answer the charge of harbouring a Christian 
— a grave offence. Next the townsmen attempted to 
assassinate Yusuf, setting cut-throats in the dark, narrow 
lanes to slay him as he passed through. The unfortunate 
Mussulman was thoroughly scared, and not unnaturally, 
for his father had been done to death in a similar way. 

Things presently assumed an even more serious aspect. 
A fresh attack on a large scale was planned in the town, 
and this came to the ears of Yusuf. It was clear that 

127 



YUSUF IN DANGER 

immediate and vigorous action must be taken for the 
defence of himself and his guest. His plan was this : 
entering several of the largest houses in the neighbourhood 
of his own and of Hamilton's prison-house, he garrisoned 
them with armed men. Then, with ten companions, he 
went over and posted himself in the cottage occupied by 
the stranger, who was fortunately well supplied with arms, 
and seems to have been quite ready to use them in case of 
necessity. But before long he begged that the garrisons 
might be withdrawn from the neighbouring houses, because 
if the attack from the mob should become furious, there 
would be a danger of hitting friend as well as foe. 
Luckily, the threatening demonstration ended in nothing 
worse than wild yells. The end came, in fact, in an 
unlooked-for way, for the principal men of the place, think- 
ing no doubt of the penalty they might have to pay should 
the Pacha interfere on behalf of the traveller, gathered 
together a force and drove off the savage hillmen, who 
were the most active and hostile among the furious crowd. 
The two bodies met at the foot of the rock, and peace was 
restored without any bloodshed. From that night a 
regular patrol of the town was kept up by the elders. 

Yusuf himself was now practically a prisoner, just 
as much as his guest, and accordingly the two men 
remained in the same house together. Not many evenings 
after, the Christian and his Mussulman friend were on the 
roof of their dwelling. A great rock overlooked the 
spot, and on this some persons in the street below, 
happening to look up, perceived four men with guns creep- 
ing along. The prisoners had their backs at that moment 
turned to the place where the would-be murderers stood, 

128 



THREATS AND INSULTS 

and saw nothing of the danger till a huge hubbub arose. 
People from below dashed up the rock with frantic cries. 
Of the four men two were taken ; the others made good 
their escape. The defence the fellows made was absurd — 
namely, that they were crow-shooting — but it was accepted 
by the authorities. It should be explained that the gall 
of the crow was reckoned a sovereign remedy for sore 
eyes. 

It would be tedious to recount a tithe of the annoyances, 
the insults, the threats, the attacks, from which the 
prisoners suffered. For Yusuf had by this time lost all 
influence with his fellow-townsmen, and was kept in con- 
finement with the stranger Christian. Even the little 
children down in the street yelled up ribaldry and insult. 
Twenty days went by, and still no sign of a reply from 
either the British Consul or the Viceroy, to whom also 
Hamilton had managed to send off a letter. Matters did 
not look promising, to say the least of it. 

Yusuf himself spared no effort to convince his brother 
elders who visited him that they would all have to pay 
dearly for their conduct towards this Christian. All his 
representations, his protestations, his abjurations, were 
thrown away. No one would listen to him. Then, by the 
strangest and most unexpected of chances, the elements 
effected in a few hours what Yusuf had laboured for three 
weeks to bring about. One day a violent hot wind from 
the south sprang up, and raged furiously for the greater 
part of a week. This was regarded by the people of the 
country as an " unfailing signal of some coming calamity ." 
Accordingly, the ringleaders in the anti-Christian tumults, 
scared and conscience-stricken, to the number of a hundred 

129 I 



HAMILTON'S LOT AMELIORATED 

and forty, left for the Arab encampments away in the 
mountains. 

In this curious way it came about tha.t Hamilton's lot was 
made both easier and safer. It was droll to see the way in 
which the different sheikhs tried to curry favour in his eyes. 
One by one they would come to him in secret, each protest- 
ing that he was entirely innocent of any participation in 
the late attacks ; that, in truth, he was the only innocent 
man in the town. Then each ended by begging that the 
stranger would be careful to notify as much to the Consul 
and to His Highness the Viceroy. 

It was exactly six weeks after his captivity had begun 
that the Englishman was finally set free. One evening 
some fellows ran into the house, crying, "Baksheesh for 
good news !" They had witnessed the arrival of a couple 
of officers, the outriders of a troop of cavalry sent by the 
Viceroy of Egypt. These two officers proved to be 
tremendous swaggerers, and gave themselves magnificent 
airs, after the fashion of Easterns in authority. They pro- 
ceeded to make huge demands for man and beast on the 
town, but what they actually got was about a fourth of 
what they had asked. At Hamilton's wish the requisitions 
were made only on the hostile part of the people. Never 
was seen a more complete turning of tables. Hamilton 
now became a veritable autocrat in the town, giving what 
orders and dictating what terms he would. His friend 
Yusuf, and his kindly countenance and assistance all 
through those unhappy weeks, he did not forget. But he 
demanded the arrest of several of the sheikhs, of the Cadi, 
and of the Imaum of one of the mosques. These prisoners 
he desired to have carried to Cairo, there to answer to the 

130 



ALL ENDS WELL 

Viceroy himself. A good word from the late prisoner 
saved the Mufti from being taken off also. Hamilton made 
all his demands in writing, and the officer in command of 
the cavalry seemed to be mortally afraid of anything 
produced by pen and ink. 

Thus all ended well for the traveller, but it might 
easily have been otherwise. His life had been in the 
greatest danger all the time of his six weeks' imprison- 
ment, and from no persons more than from the outlying 
highland tribes of the Gerdebah range who had flocked 
into the little town. 



131 I 2 



CHAPTER XI 

IN THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS 

The Atlas Mountains not well known — An English clergyman 
travels among them — The Monkey Brook — A road that tries the 
nerves — A lion lately seen — The Mount of Lions — A hunt after 
a huge beast — A hoy up a tree and a lion below — A lion scare 
with a ludicrous ending — A tall story of a lion and a soldier — 
The native dogs and the dangling legs of the English rider — 
A camel foal and its fun — Robbers plentiful — The French 
Government and the brigands— A sulky crew — An aneroid and 
a covetous Arab — A Frenchman murdered by a Morocco robber 
— Swift justice — Without shelter for the night on the moun- 
tains — A pack of ferocious dogs — A bivouac in an Arab stable — 
Hungry and thirsty — An uncomfortable prospect for the night 
— An enormous wild boar — A carriage and six — Steeplechases 
across the rough wastes — Two terrific bumps — Jugglers and 
magicians — Licking a red-hot shovel — Eating a prickly-pear 
leaf— Disagreeable tricks — The Englishman's want of faith. 

The Atlas range of mountains, however famous, is yet but 
little known to the civilized world. Most of us are aware 
that there are really two Atlas ranges, called the Great 
and the Little Atlas Mountains, although, except in one 
part, the summits of the Great Atlas are by no means so 
high as those of the Little Atlas. It is this latter chain 
of mountains that is best known to Europeans, because it 
is nearer the coast, and nearer the French colonial city 
of Algiers, so much visited nowadays. The mountains 

132 



A CLERGYMAN'S TRAVELS 

throw out great buttresses, as it were, to the very 
coast. 

In the year 1857 an English clergyman, Mr. Blakesley, 
had a good round amongst these Atlas ranges, both the 
Great and the Little, though more especially the latter. 
Up and down the country, and in and out in every direc- 
tion, he travelled, often in districts where there were 
either no roads at all, or very indifferent ones. Of serious 
dangers, perhaps, there were few, but there was one gorge 
known as the Monkey Brook, on account of the number 
of monkeys found there, that Mr. Blakesley traversed with 
considerable alarm. The carriage road runs on a narrow 
shelf on the cliff wall, and there is no parapet. A sudden 
swerve on the part of the horses, or an awkward stumble, 
would precipitate vehicle and occupants into the fearful 
chasms below. The traveller found it trying to the nerves 
to sit still in such a place. Moreover, to make matters 
worse, the rock is very soft, and the heavy rains cut big 
grooves into the surface of the road, much as a schoolboy 
might carve notches on the edge of his desk. The 
authorities take great care to fill up these ugly gaps with 
lumps of stone as soon as possible, but when Mr. Blakesley 
passed along this road it had been raining heavily all the 
night before, and the road -menders had not yet got 
through the work of repairing. The carriage crossed 
several of the broken gaps with a lurch. Had an accident 
occurred, the wayfarer tells us, the world at large would 
never have heard a word of it. 

" Down would go horses, carriage, and traveller into 
the bed of the Chiffa, far away from any European habita- 
tion. In the course of the day some Arab shepherds 

133 



LIONS 

would perhaps light upon the wreck, when, in their quiet, 
impassive way, they would collect the fragments of harness 
and ironwork with the remark, 'God is merciful,' and 
leave the mutilated corpses to be devoured by the jackals." 

But there were other dangers to be apprehended among 
those remote mountain districts. The Englishman was 
not long in observing that most wayfarers there carried a 
gun. They were not sportsmen, but took the weapons 
as a protection against wild beasts. In one place he and 
other passengers were alarmed by the report that a lion 
had been recently seen, and had devoured two cows 
belonging to a native farm. The ladies travelling were 
terribly frightened, but the district was passed without 
a sight of the prowling lion. All they saw was the 
skeleton of a slaughtered ox, the bones of which had no 
doubt been picked clean by the jackals, of which there 
were many everywhere, after the king of beasts had made 
his own repast. The panther seemed to be even more 
dreaded by the Arabs than the lion. 

There is one hill which rejoices in the name of the 
Mount of Lions, though, oddly enough, a lion is seldom 
seen there. In other places there were rather too many. 
At Jemappes, in the province of Constantine, a very fine 
lion, in the full light of day, attacked a herd of cattle and 
killed two cows. This was just before Mr. Blakesley 
arrived. The whole population turned out to hunt the 
depredator, and in less than an hour the brute was killed. 
He was found to weigh close upon five hundredweight. 
The flesh was all eaten, and its taste was said to resemble 
that of beef. Another lion made his appearance in a 
corn-field which was watched over by an Arab boy of 

134 



A SCARE 

fifteen. The lad carried a gun, mainly to shoot the wild 
swine which abounded in the neighbourhood. The lion 
was probably after the same sort of work as the boy, the 
slaughter of the pigs. Be that as it may, the youngster 
climbed into a tree, taking his gun with him, and when 
the lion came and roared at him underneath, he let fly in 
the coolest manner. Fortunately for the lad, the bullet 
went in at the beast's mouth, and probably into the brain, 
for next morning the lion was found dead not far away. 

Sometimes the lion scares ended in a different fashion. 
Mr. Blakesley was travelling in a sort of carrier's cart, 
with two or three country-folk as fellow-passengers. On 
the hill-side, where there was a thick wood, a large animal 
suddenly appeared standing in the middle of the road. 

" It is a lion P exclaimed one. 

"No, it is a dog,'" replied a second. 

" It is a young lion P cried a third passenger. 

The Englishman was naturally in a state of perturba- 
tion ; the natives, on the other hand, discussed the matter 
as calmly as if the subject had been the weather or the 
crops. The stranger hardly knew whether to be delighted 
or disappointed, when the brute ahead proved to be a 
very big mastiff. 

One of the passengers seized the occasion to tell a lion 
story, which is too extraordinary to be missed. A couple 
of French soldiers set off, but not together, to travel 
between two settlements. The first man was drunk, and, 
after managing to lose his sword somehow, he fell down 
by the wayside and dropped into a profound sleep. His 
mate, quite sober, picked up the lost sword as he followed, 
and at last came upon the sleeping man, who was lying 

135 



VICIOUS DOGS 

close to what appeared to be part of a tree-trunk covered 
with browned grass. But when he gave the sleeper a 
kick to arouse him, what was his horror to find that he 
had kicked, not his mate, but a huge lion which was 
crouching by his side ! The aggressor made off, of course, 
at his best pace, and the lion did not attempt to follow 
the man who had so rudely disturbed his slumbers, but 
immediately stretched himself by the other fellow's side 
again. When the half -intoxicated man awoke, it was to 
find himself with a strange bedfellow, and when he rose 
and walked away, the lion got up too, and accompanied 
him for several miles through the forest showing no sign 
of ferocity. At the edge of the forest the lion turned off 
and went his own way, no doubt to the relief of the man ! 
No little trouble was caused to our traveller and his 
attendants sometimes by the viciousness of the native 
dogs and by the sulkiness of the upland farmers, who 
seldom made any attempt to restrain them. At one 
place, where the dogs made a most savage onset upon 
him, he had to get a supply of stones to throw at them, 
as he had no suitable or effective whip. His legs were in 
far more danger than those of his Arab servants, who 
always rode, not with legs dangling down, but tucked up 
on the saddle. It was all the traveller could do to keep 
himself from being severely bitten, his hanging legs proving 
an irresistible temptation to the dogs. Hardly had the 
party got clear of these brutes, when they were bothered 
by an animal of quite a different kind. A young camel 
foal darted away from its herd, and came up to the mule 
Mr. Blakesley was riding, evidently bent on fun. The 
mule did not relish the fun, however, but began to kick 

136 



ROBBERS PLENTIFUL 

and plunge violently. The rider shouted, threw stones, 
and did all he knew to drive off the little camel. All in 
vain; the animal enjoyed the joke, playing about till it 
was tired. The muleteers were obliged to jump to the 
ground and seize the bridle of the kicking mule. It was 
all they could do to prevent the animal from breaking 
away, and dashing both itself and its rider to pieces. 
Luckily the troublesome foal ran off at last, and the 
mule quieted down. 

In a country which had not long been under settled and 
civilized rule, and whose conformation, moreover, was so 
favourable to brigandage, the roads were anything but 
safe. The French Government kept up a more or less 
active inspection of the chief highways, and Mr. Blakesley 
soon found out that he was in luck when he was able to 
spend the night at or near one of the military outposts. 
In some parts the Government had a system of paying the 
tribes to keep watch over the post-houses where travellers 
and their animals were in the habit of passing the night. 
Some of these subsidized natives, however, gave more 
trouble to the authorities than all the robbers on whom 
they were paid to keep an eye. When our traveller came 
across a gang of these fellows, he found them sulky and 
hostile to a degree. They glared at him with horrid 
scowls, and would neither return his salutations nor accept 
his offers of tobacco. There was one young man, however, 
who was particularly attracted by the sight of an aneroid 
barometer. He got up to look at it, and it was evident 
that he was sorely tempted to draw the yataghan he 
carried and cut down the possessor of the instrument. 
Fortunately, the Englishman was accompanied by French 

137 



SWIFT JUSTICE 

soldiers, for the man who coveted the aneroid was the most 
villainous-looking fellow he had ever seen. 

An incident that took place while he was at a military 
station near the Morocco border showed the rigour of the 
French officers in repressing crime. A Lieutenant brought 
in word that a Frenchman had been cruelly murdered, not 
far away, by a Morocco robber. The Commandant asked 
on which side of the frontier the murder was, and on being 
told that the fellow was on French ground, he remarked 
that the execution would take place that evening. There 
was no extradition treaty between France and Morocco, 
and it was the custom to make short work of every 
Morocco robber caught on the French side of the frontier. 
The trial of the criminal was short, and his shrift shorter. 
It was a rough-and-ready way of administering justice, but 
no doubt the necessities of the case demanded it. Mr. 
Blakesley observed that whenever any party of travellers 
in that district was seen by the military authorities, a 
soldier was always sent out to keep an eye on them till 
they were out of danger. 

Occasionally the Englishman found himself without 
shelter for the night, an awkward predicament in a 
country where the men were almost as wild as the animals 
that prowled around. Once, after a march of thirteen 
hours, he reached a rest-house late at night, and found it 
closed and uninhabited, so far as could be seen. Unable 
to get into the place in any way, he moved off in search of 
other shelter, when presently he was attacked by a pack of 
ferocious dogs. He beat a retreat, and was settling upon 
a spot in which to bivouac, his mules being quite unable 
to go a mile farther, when to his surprise a door in the 

138 



A NIGHT WITHOUT SHELTER 

building was opened, and a man invited him in. It proved 
to be a stable with a sort of courtyard in the middle. 
Here the belated traveller made himself a fire of artichoke 
stalks, and squatted down on a mat beside it. But he was 
half dead with thirst, and famishing besides. He could 
not make the man understand his needs for a long time, 
and he was in despair. At last the fellow went off, and 
presently reappeared bringing a bowl of milk, a godsend. 
Somewhat relieved, the Englishman proceeded to make 
himself comfortable for the night, but he determined 
to keep a night-light burning, for fear of evil designs on 
the part of the Arab, of whose character, of course, he 
knew nothing. Just as he was dropping off to sleep, 
another Arab arrived, and informed the traveller that he 
had been sent to act as guide, and that he would return in 
the morning to conduct him on his way. Now reassured, 
Mr. Blakesley and his muleteers set their minds at ease 
and slept soundly. Thus a night which had begun un- 
promisingly ended satisfactorily. But his anxiety had 
been natural enough, for the muleteers confessed that they 
were utterly ignorant of their whereabouts, and of the 
nature of the country and the character of the people. 

In one place his party disturbed a wild-boar feeding in 
a cultivated field. He was an enormous animal — "the 
largest I ever saw, far bigger than the wild-boars of 
Germany. 1 ' The brute did not show fight, as the lion 
usually does when disturbed, but made off with all 
speed into the thicket close at hand, and was lost. On 
another occasion, when traversing the vilest of vile roads 
on the hills near Tlemcen, at a height of some two 
thousand feet, his coachman — it was a coach-and-six in 

139 



A MAD STEEPLE-CHASE 

which the Englishman was travelling — suddenly left the 
ruts of the beaten track and dashed at full speed into 
the wastes alongside. Crashing through shrubs, lurching 
over various inequalities or loose obstacles, floundering 
through quagmires, the carriage sped on its way. It was 
a marvel how woodwork, wheels, and springs held together, 
over miles of such country. At length appeared in front 
a deep ditch, quite a yard wide, masked by a pile of 
stones. To the traveller's astonishment and alarm, the 
leading postboy set his animals straight at the double 
obstruction. The two leaders cleared heap and ditch, 
and the remaining four horses followed in fine style. 
The coach gave at each obstacle such a lurch as the 
traveller had never before felt. The marvel was that 
"the machine did not seem to suffer, neither was the 
luggage scattered to the four winds, nor the coachman shot 
into infinite space." The occupant of the carriage, how- 
ever, received additions to the many bruises he had 
sustained in the course of that mad steeplechase. He 
supposed this style of charioteering in French Africa to 
have been induced by the habit of driving guns about in 
mad headlong fashion. 

He was fortunate enough to see a good deal of the per- 
formances of the native jugglers and magicians, a class of 
men very common in Algiers at that date, more especially 
in the remoter and less civilized districts. One remarkable 
series of performances particularly interested him. 

The proceedings began by six or seven fellows taking 
their seats around a charcoal fire. From time to time 
the chief performer threw a handful of some substance into 
the fire, causing a puff of smoke. A sort of tambourine 

140 



JUGGLERS AND MAGICIANS 

was beaten with the knuckles the while. At length a 
young man of the party rose from the ground, threw down 
his instrument, and then bending over the fire, proceeded 
to sway his body violently backward and forward. In 
time he became as if possessed, and danced frantically 
about, giving vent to hideous howls. The performance 
now began. First a red-hot shovel was held to the 
young man, and this he took with another yell and placed 
on his arms. Then he began to lick the implement 
with his tongue, and seemed to enjoy the taste of the 
burning metal. A leaf from a prickly-pear was next 
thrown to him, and this he picked up with his mouth from 
the ground, and ate a portion of it. 

Other tricks followed which the English spectator 
found disagreeable, if not disgusting. The juggler 
apparently pulled his eye entirely out of its socket, a 
feat which the natives evidently thought a masterpiece, 
for a special collection was made on behalf of the man. 
After this the fellow proceeded to thrust an iron rod into 
his body, bringing the point out at the other side, and 
feigning all the while to be suffering the most exquisite 
torture. The stranger watched these performances narrowly, 
and in both cases perceived how the trick was done, 
though he was far too wise to say anything on the point, 
amidst a crowd of ardent believers. But he noted that on 
the occasion of another exhibition of a similar kind, a 
little later on, the moment he put his head inside the 
place the performer stopped. The black looks of the 
audience, and the one eye half closed — the sure sign of 
anger amongst the Arabs — convinced him that it would be 
better for his own safety to beat an immediate retreat. 

m 



WANT OF FAITH 

At another place he was promised a show by a man who, 
in a fit of possession, would eat serpents and scorpions alive ; 
but this performance the Englishman was fated to miss, 
the magician being temporarily absent from home. It 
was perhaps as well, for the stranger's evident want of 
faith irritated the Morocco Arabs among whom he was 
staying, and they are the most savage and unscrupulous of 
their race. 



142 



CHAPTER XII 

SPORT BEYOND THE SASKATCHEWAN 

Sportsmen, and the mountains of the Canadian Dominion — The Earl 
of Southesk, explorer and naturalist — Magnificent scenery — An 
Indian baby ill — An informal doctor — Mountain sheep — A clean 
miss — Rolling boulders down the mountain-side — More sheep — 
Wonderful feats with an old flint rifle — A " dead" sheep suddenly 
bolts — The dog and the porcupine — Search for grizzlies — How to 
manage a grizzly bear — The puma and its dangerous character — 
A puma up a tree — A very dangerous slope — Critical position of 
the nobleman — Hunt after a ram — Firing from a very risky 
spot — The dead body of the ram drops upon the dog — Another 
grizzly scare — A dangerous climb — " On either side was a tre- 
mendous precipice " — Thoroughly beaten — A climb after a for- 
gotten rifle — The Earl belated — A miserable and dangerous 
walk home through the woods — Travelling becomes harder — 
A stiff ascent covered with big rocks — Horses dragged up a 
precipice with ropes — A fall amongst the kettles and pots — 
Tent falls upon its sleeping occupant — The terrors of the pine- 
woods — Nothing like leather — The Earl christens a mountain 
and cairn after himself. 

How many sportsmen have been attracted by the boundless 
breadths of prairie and forest, by the wealth of river and 
of mountain peak, included within the vast area of the 
Canadian Dominion, it would be hard to say. And not 
only sportsmen pure and simple, but the geographer, the 
naturalist, the searcher after excitement and adventure — 
all have been drawn Westward. Amongst the band was 

143 



MAGNIFICENT SCENERY 

the Earl of Southesk, who, in the years 1859 and 1860, 
roamed over much of the upper portions of the great 
North American continent. The noble traveller was 
explorer, naturalist, and geographer primarily, but his 
taste for outdoor life and the necessity of providing suffi- 
cient food on his journeys made him an accomplished 
sportsman, too. 

We may join him at that part of his tour when he was 
close upon the stupendous range of the Rockies. With 
wonder and with awe he gazed on the marvels around him, 
and again and again he breaks out into expressions of 
delight. 

" We continued our march up the river amidst scenery 
of surpassing magnificence. . . . On the right there is a 
far higher wall of rock, which is broken by a succession of 
glorious peaks, while lower precipitous spurs, divided by 
deep rocky glens, run outwards to the river. . . . The 
strata whirl in such curious fashion that far-spreading 
spaces look like vast stores of petrified trees upheaved in 
the ruin of a dismantled world." 

The explorer had met with many curious adventures on 
his long journey across the continent, but his entrance 
upon the mountain districts brought him one of a different 
kind. One of the Indian babies was taken seriously ill. 
The mother was crying bitterly, the father also weeping. 
They begged the Earl to take up the case of the child, and 
relieve its sufferings. He hesitated, and not unnaturally, 
for if the child should die on his hands, its death would to 
a certainty be charged to him— a very undesirable thing 
anywhere and at any time, but ten times more so in his 
situation. Yet he was evidently expected to do something ; 

144 



AN INFORMAL DOCTOR 

and, besides, his own kindness of heart prompted him to 
help the miserable family if possible. His resolution was 
taken, be the consequences what they might. He ordered 
the baby to be wrapped in many blankets, for it had been 
almost naked hitherto ; he had the futile bit of fire made 
into a good rousing blaze ; and he caused his men to make 
some hot tea. " I then directed the mother to hold her 
baby close to the fire, and pour tea down its throat, as 
much as it could be made to swallow. With perfect con- 
fidence in my skill, she took a spoon and began the feeding 
process, which so greatly disgusted the child that it 
struggled and screamed, and rejected the tea, till, between 
its own efforts and the heat of the blazing logs, a little 
moisture began to appear. Telling them to keep the 
baby warm, as they valued its life, I left them and returned 
to my tent, and next morning had the happiness of hear- 
ing that the treatment had been a complete success."" 

The leader had always on his mind the problem of feed- 
ing his followers, and consequently, when he found himself 
in a district abounding in wild sheep, the opportunity was 
not to be lost. But it was a risky business at times, get- 
ting at those sheep. His very first attempt led him along 
a mountain-side, on tracks that he would have thought 
nothing but a goat could follow. A sheep was observed high 
up on the crags, and a stiff climb it was to get up to the 
spot. The latter part of the distance had to be done on 
hands and knees, over sharp rocks that cut like a knife. 
With all his efforts the sportsman could gain no point 
nearer than a hundred and twenty yards away. He risked 
his shot, and had the mortification to make a clean miss of 
it. He and his men were bent on having fun of some 

145 K 



FEATS WITH AN OLD RIFLE 

kind, however, on their elevated perch, and nothing 
better presented itself than rolling big stones down the 
steep. Down went the boulders, crashing into the groves 
of fir-trees far below, and snapping off the younger among 
them like twigs. This amusement was a huge delight to 
all the men, of whatever age, belonging to the Earl's 
party. 

Fortunately for the larder, the hunt after the mountain 
sheep was not always so unprofitable. Not long after, the 
Earl shot a ram and an old ewe, also wounding another 
sheep, which one of his servants at once finished with his 
old flint rifle — " a most extraordinary little implement, so 
short and small, so bound up and mended with leather 
and brass-headed tacks, and altogether so worn and 
weather-beaten, as to look like some curious antique toy. 1 ' 
Antoine, with his old-fashioned gun, and his master, with 
a more modern and effective weapon, next dashed down to 
the bottom of a deep ravine where more sheep were espied. 
The Earl arrived so blown that he missed with both 
barrels. He had time to reload, the animals being con- 
fused, and soon two or three dropped to his gun, Antoine 
also bringing down a couple. The two men then began 
to skin the carcasses, when, just as they were about to lay 
hands on the first of the sheep they had shot, to 
their stupefaction the beast suddenly sprang up and dis- 
appeared up the mountain-side at lightning speed. Others 
of the exploring party had had a run of luck also, and the 
day's stalk produced a heavy bag altogether. 

One of the dogs had a curious experience about this 
time. He had scented a porcupine, and had followed and 
seized it ; but he got more than he bargained for, for his 

146 



FACTS ABOUT GRIZZLIES 

mouth was stuck through with quills, and he presented a 
funny and an unhappy spectacle. Some of the quills 
were so firmly fixed in the dog's cheeks that they 
could hardly be drawn out again. According to the 
accounts of the hunters, the porcupine has its quills 
very loosely inserted in its body, so that the slightest 
touch will bring them out, if, indeed, the animal cannot shed 
them at will. The Indians have to be very careful to rid 
their dogs of the quills they have got stuck into their 
mouths during encounters with the porcupine, or the dog 
dies. 

Lord Southesk was longing to come across a grizzly bear. 
At length a man of his company saw one in a valley 
whither he had gone after rams, and he reported the 
circumstance as soon as he reached the camp. The bear 
and the hunter had looked at each other, but neither had 
cared to show fight, and they had parted company. The 
master was at first disposed to blame his servant, but a 
little reflection showed him that even a man with a double- 
barrelled gun would be unwise to attack a huge grizzly, if 
he were alone and at a distance from all help, in case of 
mishaps. An animal like the grizzly bear, so savage, so 
strong, and so hard to kill, had better be left alone, unless 
the hunter has well-armed supporters near. Respecting 
the habits of the grizzly, the Earl learnt some curious facts 
from his men. It appeared that when a bear spied a 
man he would make a halt at a distance of about a 
hundred yards away, rear himself on his haunches, and 
give a look around. After this he would either at once 
decamp, or make straight for the man. In the latter case 
Bruin would stop again at thirty yards' distance, stand 

H7 K 2 



CHARACTER OF THE PUMA 

upright, and reconnoitre as before. A final stand was 
made at ten yards 1 distance before the brute flung himself 
upon the man. Now was the hunters time, if only he had 
the wisdom and the nerve to stand so long and await the 
chance. At this last uprising, at such close quarters, the 
grizzly must be met by a well-aimed bullet, or the man's 
doom was sealed. Woe betide the hunter if his first 
ball did not carry instantaneous death with it. 

A more savage and dangerous beast than even the bear 
was said to be found in places among the Rockies — the puma. 
He can climb a tall tree with the agility and quickness of 
a cat — a feat the grizzly is unable to imitate. More- 
over, the puma is the slyest of beasts, and hunts its prey in 
the night as well as during the hours of daylight. It will 
mark out a little party of men, and will follow them 
secretly but closely for days, always on the look-out in 
case one of the number should separate himself from his 
mates. " When all is dark and silent the insidious puma 
glides in, and the sleeper knows but short awakening when 
its fangs are buried in his throat.'" If, on the other hand, 
the man kills the puma, he has a treat in store, the flesh 
being esteemed a great delicacy. The Earl was not lucky 
enough to come across one of the creatures ; not even the 
track of one was perceived. But two of his men had, not 
long before, while attached to another exploring party, 
perceived a puma up a tree. They had at once fired at it, 
not stopping, however, to see the effect of the shots, but 
bolting away at full speed. " They never felt inclined to 
go back to claim their trophy, which they most shrewdly 
suspected might have claimed them, for while the death of 
the enemy was doubtful, its indignation, if alive, was not." 

148 



? 



A CRITICAL POSITION 

The climbs after game of one sort or another, mainly 
sheep and goats, brought constant excitement to the 
hunters. The risks they ran, always considerable, were 
sometimes frightful. The Earl himself had more than 
one such. He was following a wounded sheep along a 
hill-side, when he suddenly found himself in a dangerous 
position. The steep slope was loose, consisting of pebbles 
and small fragments of rock. The stuff gave way at 
every step the hunter took, and of course carried him 
along with it. Down he was travelling, almost helpless to 
arrest his course. Below him were depths of the most 
frightful character. A little more of this slipping, and he 
would be hurled into the abyss. Even to stand still was 
death, for the loose shingle would have soon borne him 
over the edge of the precipice beneath. His dog, whining 
in terror, stood its ground with the utmost difficulty, 
showering down into its masters face stones and sand in 
its efforts. The situation was critical indeed. But the 
love of life was strong, and the Earl made renewed and 
most desperate struggles, placing his rifle along the ground 
wherever there was the least firm projection to support it. 
Dragging himself inch by inch, but almost without hope 
of ever escaping, the Earl at last gained solid ground, to 
his intense relief — and with a lively sense of gratitude to 
Providence, he tells us. 

Meanwhile the ram he was after had placed himself in a 
position awkward to reach. But the hunter went after 
him, choosing what appeared to be the safest path, and 
gained a little ledge of sloping grass. Above him, on the 
top of a rock-face about thirty feet in height, stood the 
animal ; below the sportsman dropped away a perpendicular 

149 



HUNT AFTER A RAM 

precipice of awful depth — down to the very roots of the 
mountain itself, in fact. Here he took aim, the ram 
exactly above him. He missed, and the animal moved 
away for a moment. Then returning to his former 
position, the ram gazed down at his aggressor. The 
second ball brought the poor brute flying from the cliff's 
edge into empty air. It fell with a crash on the little 
grassy ledge, almost crushing the dog. The master had 
dodged the falling body. In his death struggles the ram 
would have been over the precipice and lost for ever, had 
not the hunter seized him by the hind -leg and held on till 
all was over. Even when the animal was dead his body 
would not rest on the steep slope, but had to be propped 
up with stones till it could be fetched away by the 
servants. 

There was another report of a grizzly in the neighbour- 
hood, and the Earl went off to search for the animal. Up 
hill and down dale the men wandered, but all in vain ; he 
was once more doomed to disappointment. He deter- 
mined, however, to climb to the highest part of the range 
within sight, in order that he might get a view of what 
was beyond, and gain some information as to the general 
plan of mountain and valley in the neighbourhood. It 
was a particularly toilsome climb, the many rock walls 
jutting out from the ridge causing endless trouble. There 
was much snow on the higher portions of the crest. By 
dint of great exertion the Earl got himself close to the 
foot of the main cliff, not far from the top of the mountain. 
There, to his vexation, he was brought to an abrupt stop 
by a most difficult bit of rock. It was of no great height, 
but it stood j ust in the way, where the sharp ridge was at 

150 







A Dangerous Moment 

Standing on the sloping little grassy ledge, Lord Southesk shot at the rani exactly 
above him, and hit it. It came tumbling over, and the hunter bad to dodge the flying 
mass, and later to seize it so as to prevent its falling over the precipice. 



THOROUGHLY BEATEN 

its narrowest. On either side was a tremendous precipice 
covered with layers of ice. Twice he tried to scramble up 
this formidable obstacle, but it was quite impassable. He 
stood to consider whether he could in any way work round 
the rock, but he wisely decided to leave it alone ; at the 
best it would be exceedingly difficult, and in case he 
should have the smallest slip, his destruction was certain ; 
moreover, there was an even worse place farther on. He 
had to own himself beaten, and scramble down again. He 
was intensely disappointed not to have gained the summit 
and a view of what was beyond, but there was no help 
for it. 

He had not yet done with this mountain-flank ; when 
half-way down, he discovered that he had left his rifle up 
above. A second long and fatiguing climb, on the top of 
his former exertions, was no light matter, but it had to be 
done. The result of it all was that night came on before 
the climber had reached the bottom again. He was at 
least four or five miles from the camp ; he was alone ; 
there was no track ; the darkness was deep ; he was dog- 
tired. It was a disagreeable prospect that was before him, 
to say the least of it. Through dark, sombre woods he 
plunged on, over cliff and torrent, scrambling or tumbling 
over fallen trunks, and forcing his way in places through 
a thick undergrowth of scrub. Besides, he was in the 
very haunt of the grizzly, and he might at any moment 
find himself confronted by one of these formidable brutes. 
And even though the moon presently arose, the darkness 
in the dense spruce-thickets would have given him a poor 
chance of using his gun effectively against a bear, had one 
come his way. He fired off his rifle repeatedly, to attract 

151 



TRAVELLING BECOMES HARDER 

the attention of his companions at the camp, but the 
sound echoed and re-echoed among the mountains in such 
a way that it could be no guide to anybody. Dead-beaten, 
the sportsman dragged himself along, till, a mile from 
home, he was delighted to fall in with a little search-party, 
who had become alarmed at his absence. To mount a 
horse and ride the remainder of the distance was a luxury 
indeed. 

The travelling became harder as the mountains grew 
wilder. At one place it was only by some very clever 
manoeuvring that a way forward was found at all. It was 
in this wise. First came an exceedingly steep slope, 
of itself formidable enough. But this particular steep 
was thickly strewn with great boulders, on an average of 
the size of a cart, the explorer informs us, and near one 
another. Between the blocks were deep holes — of course, 
except in the few instances where smaller stuff rolling 
down the mountain had filled up the hollow spaces. How 
the servants of the expedition got the horses up this ugly 
bank the Earl could not tell ; he was himself at a distance 
at the time, shooting ptarmigan. But a worse bit of 
going now presented itself: " at the summit was a nearly 
perpendicular wall of hard-frozen snow, about twenty feet 
high. Steps were cut, and the horses dragged up with 
ropes. They ascended without accident, except Blond, 
who slipped on a sheet of ice just as he got to the top, 
and fell to the bottom, crushing our pots and kettles, but 
damaging himself very little, as his packs saved him. 
Rowland positively refused to go up, so he was taken a 
long way round, and the men carried his packs up the icy 
stair. ... It was an almost incredible feat, though 

152 



A TREMENDOUS GALE 

perhaps less really wonderful than the previous ascent of 
the hill among the separated blocks of stone." 

Of storms the travellers had their full share — wind, 
rain, snow, thunder, and lightning. On one occasion 
a tremendous gale sprang up from the north-west, and 
bore down upon them with incredible fury. The camp 
happened to be in a very exposed situation, being high up 
and without shelter of any sort. The Earl's tent was 
under a severe strain all the time, and at length the centre- 
pole snapped, and the whole thing fell down upon the 
body of the sleeper. It was useless to attempt to set up 
the tent again in such a hurricane, and he was " doomed 
to pass a most uncomfortable night, feeling much as if 
beneath a gigantic fan, as the canvas flapped to and fro, 
and drove eddies of air through every covering I could 
devise." 

A very tiresome thing to contend with on the march 
was the presence of fallen, splintered, or broken trees. 
The devastating storms often laid a considerable portion 
of a wood more or less prostrate. The horses were, as a 
consequence, kept constantly jumping, the obstacles being 
too large to be stepped over. Then, while the larger trees 
often tear the animals, the smaller ones, pointing in every 
direction, run full tilt at both man and beast, and the 
rider's legs, as well as the horse's chest, come in for hard 
usage, the broken branches piercing like spears. The 
Earl, luckily for himself, had a suit of stout leather, and 
he found that nothing but leather was an effective defence 
against the lance-like attacks directed upon his person. 
Even then his head was sometimes " artistically aimed at," 
and his beaver cap was sent spinning, if, indeed, the rider 

153 



A WELL-DESERVED HONOUR 

were not jerked bodily off his beast, like an unhorsed 
knight of old. 

The Earl ascended a peak amongst the Rockies that had 
never before been visited by a white man. He and his 
companions built there a big cairn of stones. The peak, 
my lord, with pardonable pride, ventured to christen after 
his own name, and so Southesk Mount and Southesk Cairn 
figure on the maps. He well deserved the modest honour 
he did himself. 

[From <e Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains/' by the late 
Earl of Southesk. Edmonston and Douglas, Edinburgh. By kind 
permission of the Earl of Southesk.] 



154 



CHAPTER XIII 

ADVENTURES IN THE HIMALAYAS 

Dr. W. H. Russell, the famous Times correspondent— In India 
after the Mutiny — Joins an expedition into the mountains — 
The start from Simla — A marvellous country — A fearful road 
— A wooden bridge with the pins taken out — Minaul-shooting 
How to get up the steeps — A terrific descent — " Approaching 
the antipodes " — A festival in honour of a local idol — A pitiful 
spectacle — Camping out on a mountain ledge — Extraordinary 
storm — Capture of runaway mutineers — A comet causes the 
natives intense alarm — Severe rebuke to a Rajah — A fruitless 
bear-hunt — Leopard and musk-deer — A Himalaya hunter's life 
a dangerous one — Lord William Hay and the snake — Awful 
precipices to be skirted by the sportsmen — Another bear-hunt 
— This time in a wood full of deadly snakes — Babies sleeping 
under waterfalls — Russell's visit to a Rajah — Balancing on the 
back of a fidgety elephant — A desperate leap — Alights on the 
Prince's toes — An affable potentate — Something like a present ! 

Dr. William Howard Russell, the war-correspondent of 
the Times newspaper, whose graphic accounts of the 
Crimean and Indian Mutiny campaigns made his name 
famous, was a remarkable man in many ways, not less 
gallant and enterprising than the very best of the brave 
soldiers whose deeds he narrated. Towards the close of 
the Mutiny he joined a number of officers in an expedition 
among the Himalayas, and he has described in his vivid 
way his adventures in that marvellous region. 

155 



START FROM SIMLA 

The expedition started from Simla, away among the 
highlands of North-Western India, and a number of dis- 
tinguished military men took part in it, the leader being 
Lord William Hay. There was administrative work to be 
done, and the political side was not wanting, for it was 
proposed to visit certain Rajahs on the way, especially the 
Rajah of Bussahir; but the officers hoped also to enjoy a 
little rest and sport after arduous military duties. 

The party travelled from Simla by the wonderful road 
which leads towards the Himalayas and Thibet. At 
intervals of about a day's journey there were rest-houses, 
usually styled bungalows, erected by the British Govern- 
ment for the use of travellers. This road Russell calls one 
of the most splendid works in the world, and he says that, 
in the course of time, when the railways shall have made 
the district more accessible, he will be much surprised " if 
English tourists do not wander forth through the grand 
passes of the Himalayas, which dwarf the Alps to nothing- 
ness, which abound in game, and are full of novelty and 
fresh views of life.'" It was a relief indeed, he tells us, to 
get away from Simla, " to wind along this charming road, 
screened by the shadows of the pines, and to gaze, as I 
rode, on the ever-varying landscape right away to the 
distant mountains, where the darkening undulations show 
the course of the Sutlej, thousands of feet below." 

At Tioge Lord William Hay was occupied for some 
time in settling boundary disputes, and dispatching similar 
business among the hill-folk, and the rest of the officers 
went on in advance of him. They rode ponies, and got 
along well enough for a time. Then the road became so 
dangerous that they had to dismount, "as a false step 

156 



A FEARFUL ROAD 

would have been the certain cause of a projection of many 
hundred feet into gaping ravines, filled with jagged cliffs 
and distorted strata." The road was a strange piece 
of work, here tunnelling through shoulders of the moun- 
tain, and there carried over or alongside sheer precipices 
by means of stout beams of wood fastened into the rocks. 
At one spot the party ran a frightful risk, as it afterwards 
appeared. They had just crossed a platform or bridge, 
hanging over a tremendous precipice, when it was dis- 
covered that many of the iron pins holding the bridge 
together had disappeared. They had been taken out by 
the natives of the locality for the sake of the iron ! 

The officers had a notable day among the game at an 
elevation of between eight and nine thousand feet. A 
number of them scrambled up the hill-sides, taking with 
them a hundred and fifty coolies as beaters, whilst others 
remained below, at various points in the dells, to bag such 
birds as came that way. It was an animated and a noisy 
scene, the movements of the sportsmen and the yells of 
the beaters echoing among the mountains, giving life to 
the spectacle. The bird found in greatest numbers was 
the minaul, and so rapid were its movements, that the 
men might as well have tried to shoot a flash of lightning, 
Russell tells us, as to hit a minaul. These birds had a 
singular knack of dropping like plummets down to the 
bottom of the valleys, whence, when all was quiet once 
more, they would run up the hill to the top again at great 
speed. A brace or two fell to the guns, and Dr. Russell 
himself went far down into the ravines below and picked 
up a few of the birds. But so steep were the slopes, that, 
in ascending again, he was glad of the help of a couple of 

157 



A TERRIFIC DESCENT 

coolies, who took each an arm, and hoisted him up in fine 
style. This kind of thing was considered quite permissible 
in the Himalayas, and the natives were remarkably sure- 
footed — far more so than even the Alpine guides. What 
was more, they seemed never to suffer from shortness of 
breath, no matter what the elevation of the mountain, or 
what the steepness of the ascent. 

Russell confesses that the descent in one place, down to 
a mountain lodge of the Rajah's, scared him — at any rate at 
the start, his feelings when called upon to take the down- 
ward path being, as he supposed, something like those of 
a young sparrow when required for the first time to take 
a drop from the giddy heights of the water-spout down to 
the street below. But he had his native helpers, and he 
had his alpenstock. " And thus, with an able-bodied 
aborigen holding on by my tunic-tails behind, and Khoom 
Dass and his nephew acting as a locomotive stair-steps 
below, I parachuted down, down, and ever down — knee- 
deep in flowers, thigh-deep in rich clover, underwood, grass, 
and corn, here forced up a stile, there dropped down a 
little cataract, till it seemed to me that I was approaching 
the antipodes. Khoom Dass had no perceptible difficulty 
with his respiratory apparatus, and descended like a snow- 
ball ; and I am afraid that several times I should not have 
been displeased if he had slightly sprained his ankle, or had 
fallen on his respectable Roman nose." 

When Dr. Russell and his friends " parachuted " down 
that alarming slope, they were bound on a curious errand, 
no less than that of witnessing a great festival that was to 
be held in honour of a local god. The visitors were not 
yet at the spot, however, for the idol stood on the top of a 

158 



A PITIFUL SPECTACLE 

steep-sided and cone-shaped hill that rose from the middle 
of the valley. It required all Khoom Dass's sprightly 
activity to get the weighty war-correspondent up to the 
rendezvous. When the Englishmen arrived at the place 
they were received with great acclamations by the big 
crowd of worshippers, and they were given a place of dis- 
tinguished honour — a seat on the Rajah's carpet. The 
image itself was a frightfully hideous thing, with seven 
heads of metal, arranged in the form of a lozenge. Enor- 
mous lengths of hair hung down all round, and concealed 
the lower parts of the idol, as well as the men who bore it 
about the assembly. When the thing was brought before 
the Rajah himself, that great ruler bowed, to satisfy his 
people who stood around, but he had much difficulty, 
Russell thought, in keeping his countenance through the 
ceremony. 

It happened sometimes that the party did not manage 
to reach the next bungalow on the road, and they had to 
spend the night on the mountain-side or in some sheltered 
valley. On one occasion no level spot on which to pitch 
the tents could be discerned nearer than a little plateau 
that could be seen a long way above the road. So decep- 
tive are the distances among such stupendous ranges, that 
it took an hour's hard climbing to reach that little bit 
of level. It was a grand position, the peaks towering up 
into the sky on all sides. The argus pheasant was to be 
found in plenty, and some of the more enthusiastic of the 
sportsmen, fascinated by the view, declared that they 
would take a cold dinner with them, climb to the top of 
the overhanging peak, and there sleep, so as to be ready 
for pheasant-shooting in the early Jmorning. The war- 

159 



AN EXTRAORDINARY STORM 

correspondent smiled quietly to himself as he witnessed 
the start, and all the evening the men kept dropping in, 
one after another, utterly exhausted, and remarking that 
they would defer till the morning their visit to the summit. 
It was as well so, for presently there arose a tremendous 
storm. " The blinding flashes lighted up the closed tent, 
inside which we sat as though it were in the focus of an 
electric light. Rolls of thunder clashed along the hill-side, 
so that we imagined the rocks were tumbling down upon 
our heads, and the rain fell with a heavy leaden thud for 
hours together, till the little spring swelled into a torrent, 
and dashed away with a great roar into the stream in the 
valley below us." 

Other matters than sport occupied the attention of the 
Englishmen, however, and especially of their chief. There 
was a sensation one morning when five or six hill men 
brought into the camp two sepoys — runaway mutineers, it 
was said. They were big, well-built fellows, and carried 
themselves in a way that immediately proclaimed the 
soldier. They were placed before Lord William for 
examination, and told lies glibly. They first pretended 
to be fakirs from Cashmere, but Khoom Dass, after a little 
cross-questioning, proved that they knew nothing of the 
beliefs and duties of a fakir. One of the prisoners 
admitted that he had been a servant in the 46th Regi- 
ment of Native Infantry, and at last that it was just 
possible he might once have been a sepoy in that notorious 
band. What part exactly these fellows had played in the 
Mutiny and its awful accompaniments could not be dis- 
covered at that time and place, and they were sent away 
to Simla for further examination. 

160 



ALARMED BY A COMET 

Terrible alarm was caused one night among the natives 
attached to the expedition by the rise above the black 
outline of the mountain forest of a " bright and wonderful 
star, which, as it ascended, displayed a tail of a faint rose- 
coloured hue streaming after it. The natives assembled 
in great consternation, and gazed upon it with awe and 
horror, for with them to have the ' Doomwallah ' is an 
omen of most evil import, perplexing nations with the 
fear of change. It was some moments ere we made out it 
was a comet, and for hours we watched its fierv seam 
across the calm blue heavens." So easily are the peoples 
of that far-off hill-country alarmed by any unusual natural 
phenomenon. 

The members of the expedition had several times seen 
the Rajah of Bussahir, and had had many curious experi- 
ences of him and his people. But at length there came a 
day which banished the potentate from the British pres- 
ence. The Rajah paid a visit to Lord William, and got 
himself into serious trouble by coming in a state of help- 
less intoxication ; he had, in fact, been up all night, drink- 
ing hard at brandy and champagne. Lord William 
administered a severe rebuke, and sent the Prince away in 
disgrace. 

This strange and unpleasant duty did not prevent the 
officers from going out to hunt in the afternoon, more 
especially as word had been brought into the camp that 
the traces of a bear had been seen in the neighbourhood. 
A big show of beating was made, and the search was close ; 
at one time the shikaree, or huntsman, declared that the 
beast could not be more than twenty yards away. It was 
all to no purpose ; the bush was so thick that all traces of 

161 L 



DANGERS OF HUNTING 

the bear were lost. But there was found the carcass of a 
musk-deer, which had been killed by a leopard and partly 
devoured. A search was made by the natives for the 
musk-bag, and it appeared that the leopard always throws 
away that portion of the musk-deer, probably because its 
presence gives an unpleasant flavour to the whole of the 
flesh. Some of these deer were heard crashing through 
the scrub, but there were no dogs present to assist in the 
tracking, and the animals escaped. 

The life of the hunter in the Himalayas is full of 
dangers, especially in the case of the native mountain-folk, 
many of whom devote all their days to this occupation. 
It is not only the risks from bears and other wild animals 
they have to fear, but they are liable to be caught in 
snowstorms and lost, or overwhelmed by avalanches of 
snow or by falling rocks, to say nothing of the precipices 
and the frequency with which bad falls are met with. An 
injured man may lie in agony for days in some remote 
spot till death mercifully intervenes, and for long after- 
wards his bleached skeleton may remain a ghastly spectacle 
to future adventurers. There is also the risk of snake- 
bites. One day, as the beaters were pursuing their duties 
with their usual din, suddenly they began a wild yell of 
ft Maro ! maro !" jumping violently up and down the while. 
Lord William Hay began to jump likewise, much to 
Russell's mystification, who, though but a few yards 
behind, could not see what the chief was about. All the 
same, the war- correspondent showed remarkable agility in 
skipping out of the way also. Lord William banged the 
bush heavily with a thick stick, and at length cried glee- 
fully, " I have killed him P It was a snake he had been 

162 



AWFUL PRECIPICES 

attacking, and the natives declared it to be one of the 
deadliest serpents of the district, and that a man once 
bitten by it had but a few minutes to live. 

Russell breaks out into unstinted admiration of the 
views to be obtained from all the commanding points on 
their route. This was the case at a place near the source 
of the Ghirree, from which was to be had one of the most 
glorious prospects in the world. But it was an awful 
place also — so much so, indeed, that " it was enough to 
make even a man of strong nerves shudder at portions of 
the path, which is carried with infinite art by most trying 
curves of mountain and precipice right along the top of 
this abyss.' 1 These precipices were in some places two 
thousand or three thousand feet in sheer depth, the moun- 
tain seeming as if rent bodily in two. Here the hunting- 
party were met by a whole mob of natives from the sur- 
rounding settlements. The fellows were in a state of 
great excitement, saying that a couple of bears had dis- 
appeared into the thick wood lining the bottom of the 
valley. They begged the assistance of the gentlemen, a 
request complied with at once and with delight, as it is 
hardly necessary to say. Into the forest jungle the whole 
party, hunters and villagers, plunged. They crashed 
about vigorously for an hour or two, the natives keeping 
up an indescribable din all the while. At length all 
farther progress was stopped by the density of the under- 
growth. The bears had evidently given their enemies the 
slip, and the sportsmen retired from the wood, feeling that 
they had rather been made fools of. Their further feel- 
ings may be imagined when they were informed by the 
natives that this wood was one of the most dangerous 

163 L 2 



BABIES UNDER WATERFALLS 

places to be found, for it was thickly infested by terribly 
deadly snakes. One species was a sort of boa, which was 
asserted to be forty or fifty feet long, with a body as thick 
as the trunk of a fair-sized pine. This tall story was not 
at all credited by the British sportsmen, but they had no 
difficulty in believing that the other and smaller kind of 
serpent — the same as that killed by Lord William not 
long before — was plentiful enough. As it happened, no 
member of the party had been injured in the scramble 
amongst the bushes. 

A curious custom was found to prevail in one locality. 
A Thakoor of the district had a little boy, to whom Russell 
had taken a great fancy, giving him a pocket-knife. This 
man, visiting the tents one evening, excused himself for 
not having brought his son by saying that the child was 
asleep under the waterfall ! A little inquiry revealed the 
fact that the women, whenever they wanted a child to go 
to sleep, took him to a spot on the mountain-side where 
stood ready for use a number of miniature waterfalls. A 
place had been chosen where water gushed forth from the 
rock, and there a shed had been built, down into which 
the water was led by means of reeds or other tubes. The 
children were laid on the ground beneath these spouts, so 
that a trickle of water descended continuously on the face. 
61 The child closes its eyes and mouth, and falls into a pro- 
found, sweet, and healthful sleep, which endures so long as 
it is left under the waterspout !* And the correspondent 
declares that though he had seen dozens of children so 
sleeping, yet he had never heard of any ill-effects resulting 
from this strange treatment. 

Russell had some amusing experiences on the occasion 

164 




A Dangerous Jump for a heavy Man 

The day was frightfully hot and the elephants fidgety, so Russell had carefully to watch tor 
a favourable moment to jump from one howdah to the other. 



VISIT TO A RAJAH 

of a sort of state visit to another of the highland Rajahs. 
He accompanied Mr. Melville, a Deputy-Commissioner, 
and seems to have been mistaken by the Rajah for that 
great official. At any rate, the war-correspondent was 
invited to ascend to the potentate's howdah, on the back 
of an enormous elephant. This was how it had to be 
done : Russell had first to mount a ladder to the top of 
another elephant standing by, and then to step across the 
space between the two animals. The day was frightfully 
hot ; the elephants were fidgety ; the war-correspondent 
was heavy, and not exactly nimble, being slightly lame 
just then ; the chasm was of uncertain and varying 
breadth, and full fifteen feet deep ! How Mr. Melville 
must have chuckled to see his friend balancing himself 
anxiously as he stood on the back of the unsteady beast, 
watching for a chance of jumping across in safety ! 

" There sat His Highness the Rajah, and here stood 
his lowness the correspondent, afraid, by reason of his 
lameness, to make a leap ; and the bulging sides of the 
two elephants kept their howdahs as far apart as the 
main-chains of two line-of-battle ships would separate 
their hammock-nettings. I could not make an explana- 
tory speech to the Rajah, who sat smiling with extended 
hand, the finger-tips some good six feet away ; and thus 
I stood, supremely foolish, and very uncertain what to do, 
till a sudden lurch, a push from behind, a desperate 
resolution all combined, and with a desperate, ponderous 
flop, full thirteen stone and ten pounds, I dropped on the 
Rajah's feet, and took my seat at his side. Dear, good 
man! Kings have long and unfeeling arms, but I 
presume their toes are as sensitive as those of most mortal 

165 



AN AFFABLE POTENTATE 

men. The Rajah never winced, and yet I am nearly 
certain I alighted, or preponderated, upon his feet ; and I 
am perfectly certain his feet were quite naked, with the 
exception of some rings of precious metal set round His 
Highnesses most favoured pedal digits. 1 " 

However, the Rajah was exceedingly affable, and the 
two had a long conversation together, Mr. Melville act- 
ing as interpreter. Before the interview ended, valuable 
presents were brought by the attendants and offered to 
the visitors. Russell was pressed to take a magnificent 
set of precious stones, the value of which, he was after- 
wards informed, was not less than thirty thousand pounds ! 
He bowed and declined the dazzling offer. He was wise, 
for etiquette would have required him to make a present 
of equal value in return ! 



166 



CHAPTER XIV 

SYRIAN MOUNTAINS AND SYRIAN ROBBERS 

A famous book of travels — Mr. Warburton, tbe author of "The 
Crescent and the Cross " — His Eastern tour — Starts over the 
Mountains of Lebanon — A well-armed couple — A wonderful 
country — " Torn mountains and black precipices " — Panthers, 
wild boars, hyenas — A hyena shot — Alone in a robbers 5 den at 
night — A masterful assumption of authority — A difficult moun- 
tain-path — Ascent of the ( ' Hill of Hermon " — Half dead with 
thirst — " A precious little rivulet " — Milking the wild goats — 
Gazelle -stalking — A night on the bare mountain-side — The 
wild " hill-country of Judea " — Warburton's dragoman miss- 
ing — The peasant and the gun — A fruitless search — Bishop's 
men join in it — A cut-throat village — ' ' None who enter come 
out again !" — Warburton dashes into the place — A surly recep- 
tion — Exit barred — A group of dark figures at the gate — 
" Stand clear !" — Flashing steel — A wonderful escape — Servant 
found — A mountain ride to Beyrout — Englishman pushes on 
ahead — A terrible track in the dark — Four mounted scouts in 
the pass — A collection of Arab smuggler-tents at one in the 
morning — Picturesque scene — But a terribly dangerous position 
— Three squinting ruffians — A friendly Syrian — "I shot past 
the smugglers." 

Mr. Eliot Warburton, the author of "The Crescent 
and the Cross,"" lived before the days of cheap excursions 
and personally-conducted tourist parties; but, though 
travel was more difficult in his time, he saw a good deal 
more than the majority of our present-day holiday 
tourists manage to do with their superior advantages, 

167 



AN EASTERN TOUR 

and he described his journeyings in a delightful style 
which made his book famous. 

From Gibraltar he sailed to Egypt, ascended the Nile 
to Nubia, came back again, and voyaged to Syria and 
Palestine, and, on his homeward way, contrived to see 
Cyprus, Constantinople, and Greece. Not the least in- 
teresting part of his long round was that which covered 
the mountains of Lebanon and the Syrian uplands 
generally, and the " hill-country of Judea." We may 
take up his narrative at Beyrout, from which he intended 
to travel over the Mountains of Lebanon, to see Damascus 
and the ruins of Baalbec, and to visit the sacred scenes of 
the Holy Land. 

His retinue consisted of a servant and a muleteer, both 
armed in magnificent fashion. The muleteer wore a big 
belt, in which were stuck almost an armoury of daggers 
and pistols, while the rest of his dress, "a pair of 
petticoat-trousers, red slippers, a faded jacket," together 
with a red cap wrapped round with a Damascus shawl, 
was certainly picturesque and very much in keeping 
with his profession and the wild Syrian mountains. 
The servant was more of a dandy, yet he too presented 
a formidable appearance, carrying a pair of pistols in the 
pommel of his saddle, a sabre by his side, and his master's 
gun slung across his shoulder. For many weeks did the 
traveller tread the mountains with only these two honest 
fellows for company and help in time of need. His horse, 
a beautiful Arab steed, was to him as a dear friend. The 
state of the country will be understood from the fact that 
every traveller whom he met on the way was fully armed. 

The following description of the scenery of the Lebanon 

168 



SCENERY OF LEBANON 

will stand for many spots besides the neighbourhood of 
the village of Beteddeen, respecting which it is written : 
" We broke away over the mountains at a gallop where it 
seemed too steep to walk. We had sent on our servants 
early, and soon lost our way ; but still we pushed on, 
though it was a wild country to ride a steeple — or, 
rather, a mosque — chase in. We came at last upon a 
beautiful little village, clinging to the side of a precipice, 
with cascades gushing through its streets and over- 
arching some of them. . . . Our way henceforth for 
some hours lay through scenery perhaps unparalleled in 
beauty. All the picturesque and imposing, all the 
awful yet winning effect, that hill and vale and water 
can produce are here. Torn mountains, black precipices, 
thundering torrents, yawning rifts, soft, sunny glades, 
pale green vineyards, wide-spreading forests, flat-roofed 
cottages, sparkling rills, terraced cultivation, and a 
brilliant sky over all, leave nothing for the painter's, or 
even the poet's, eye to desire.'" 

Of dangerous wild animals our traveller saw very few. 
On Mount Carmel, he was told, there were panthers, and 
wild boars, and hyenas. The goatherds of the district 
have always to go armed during the day, and have to fold 
their flocks at night within stone-wall fences. Mr. War- 
burton managed to shoot one hyena before he left the 
district, but it escaped with its wounds among the cliffs. 

It was the men from whom the dangers of the journey, 
if any, might be expected to come. The wandering Arabs 
were a wild, lawless, and vindictive set as a rule. Even 
the Turkish soldiers, who might have been expected to be 
under discipline, were often awkward fellows to meet with. 

169 



AN ENGLISHMAN'S COOLNESS 

On one occasion Mr. Warburton had ridden on ahead of 
his servants when a storm came on. He ran for shelter to 
some ruined buildings, that looked the very thing for a 
robbers' den. He was not very greatly pleased to find 
two armed Arabs in possession of the ruins. The place 
and the men were alike ugly and forbidding, but it was 
too late to turn away. And Mr. Warburton was not in 
the least the sort of man to show the white feather. His 
plan of action was soon formed. With an air of authority 
he flung the rein to one of the fellows, and ordered him to 
lead the horse up and down to cool. The other man was 
directed to make a fire at once, while the Englishman him- 
self, in the most off-hand way possible, sat down, lighted 
his pipe, and watched his orders carried out. Strange to 
say, the Arabs at once obeyed, after glancing at one 
another for a moment, and by the time the traveller's 
servants arrived there was a good fire blazing, and the 
horse was cool. Had the stranger showed any timidity, or 
had his tone been less masterful, there is little doubt that 
the Arabs would have plundered him, if, indeed, he had 
escaped a worse fate. 

In many parts of the mountain country the ascents and 
descents were difficult and even dangerous, yet the servants 
of the Englishman would take them at a gallop, wherever 
it was at all possible. Coming down the side of Lebanon 
on one occasion towards a stronghold of the Druses, he 
found the way very long, very toilsome, and very dan- 
gerous. It was such a path as he describes elsewhere, 
where nothing but a lizard or a mountaineer might have 
been expected to venture. Glad were horse and man when 
at last they reached the valley and a deliciously cool 

170 



THE HILL OF HERMON 

streamlet. Again, near the village called Ainete the 
horses could scarcely keep their feet at all on the sides of 
the naked mountain, and the beasts went on hurriedly 
and yet fearfully, evidently dreading a catastrophe, and 
yet desirous of getting away as fast as possible from so 
unsafe a spot. 

Warburton made an ascent of the loftiest and most 
famous of the Syrian peaks, Djebel-es-Sheikh, the Chief 
of the Mountains, or, as it is called in the Scriptures, the 
Hill of Hermon. He tells us that though he had ascended 
most of the usual mountains, this was by far the most 
difficult of all. He and his companions left their horses 
in the village nearest the summit, but it required six hours 
of the severest climbing after that to reach the top, so 
long and laborious was the ascent. The party were half 
dead with thirst, but not a drop of water could be found 
on all the route. Then, when the summit was reached 
where the snow was lying, every man rushed to the first 
patch. They could not satisfy their thirst till their guide 
showed them how to proceed. Breaking off masses of the 
frozen snow he held them in the sun, and at length " a 
precious little rivulet trickled down into our parched 
mouths." In the traveller's opinion the world does not 
possess a more magnificent view than that which he beheld 
from the crown of the Hill of Hermon. 

The descent from the mountain and the course among 
the hills towards Damascus brought a fresh incident or 
two. Thirst again attacking the party, and no water 
being in sight, it struck them that if they could catch 
some of the mountain goats, they might obtain milk. A 
hard and exciting chase after the animals it was before 

171 



DRAGOMAN MISSING 

one was caught, but when it was milked, on the snow, the 
draughts were refreshing indeed. Lower down the party 
tried to stalk some gazelles, but were unsuccessful. It was 
late when they got down from the mountain, but the 
Englishman declined the invitation to stop for the night 
at the village, fearing the fleas there more than the wild 
beasts without or the robbers roaming the hills. Yet the 
way was solitary ; it was rough and rugged ; it was known 
to be haunted by freebooters. The traveller and his men 
plodded on till it was pitch dark, however, and they were 
then compelled to lie down on the bare ground, just where 
they were, and tie their horses to their feet. The muleteer 
took the precaution to remove the bells from the necks of 
the animals, lest the sound might attract the prowling 
robbers. In this uncomfortable fashion they passed the 
night on the mountain-side. 

An adventure of a different kind awaited the traveller in 
the mountain-country of Judea, not far from the ancient 
and hallowed village of Bethlehem. He was riding quietly 
along when he suddenly noticed that his servant, or 
dragoman, was missing. He had heard a shot, but took 
very little notice, such sounds being only too common in a 
country where everybody bore arms. Going back into the 
valley to look for the man, he met a fellow with a musket 
over his shoulder. This weapon he did not hesitate to 
seize and hold while he questioned the countryman. The 
peasant said that he too had heard a shot, and had seen a 
man galloping hard away ; he opened the pan of his own 
gun to show that it, at any rate, had not been recently 
fired. Up one hill after another did Warburton climb, 
shouting the name Nicola with all his might, till it was 

172 



A FRUITLESS SEARCH 

dark. Making his way to Bethlehem, he went in search of 
the English Bishop, to beg the assistance of his men in the 
search. He found the kindly Bishop conducting service 
in the church, but the good man at once placed his groom 
and janissary at Warburton's disposal. 

Now, among the hills, near the place where the missing 
servant had last been seen, was a village with a very bad 
reputation. It was surrounded with a wall, and strangers 
were hardly ever permitted to enter there ; if they did 
enter, they never came out again. When, therefore, 
Mr. Warburton announced to his men, and to a number of 
Bethlehemites who had volunteered their services, his 
intention of going into the village to look for the missing 
servant, they regarded him with amazement. But he was 
mounted on a splendid horse, and without hesitation he 
dashed on ahead down the mountain-side, and was soon 
flying at full speed through the village street, the hoofs 
sending out showers of sparks as they struck the road of 
solid rock. He found only a few sulky groups, every man 
armed with a formidable knife. In answer to his inquiries, 
they replied in a surly fashion that no horseman had for 
many a day entered their town. On this Warburton 
made for the opposite gate, down a very steep street. This 
is his own vivid account of his escape from that den of 
thieves and cut-throats. 

" I could see a group of dark figures standing under the 
archway, and the two nearest of the party had crossed their 
spears to arrest my passage. I could not have stopped if 
I would ; neither the custom of the country nor the circum- 
stances of the case required much ceremony ; so, shouting 
to them to ' stand clear, 1 I gave spurs to my eager steed, 

173 



THE SERVANT'S TALE 

and burst through them as if I was ' switching a rasper.' 
The thin spears gave way like twigs ; the mob rebounded 
to the right and to the left against the wall. They were all 
armed, and mine was not the only steel that gleamed as 
a fellow rushed forward to seize my bridle. The next 
moment my mare chested him, and sent him spinning and 
tangled in his long blue gown, while I shot forth into the 
open moonlight, and, turning round a pile of ruins, was in 
a moment hidden from their view." 

The plucky Englishman made the best of his way to 
Bethlehem again, feeling it useless to continue the search 
in the darkness of the night. He had a scare on his 
return journey, meeting a party of armed men. They 
proved to be friends, citizens who had come out to inform 
him that the dragoman had been found. When the 
Bethlehem men learnt that the traveller had actually been 
into that "den of robbers," and had come out again, 
they scarcely credited the story. The servant was 
found at the convent, and this was his tale : he had gone 
back to the Pool of Siloam to fetch his rosary, which he 
had left there, when an Arab had fired upon him from 
behind a rock. The bullet had grazed his skin and had 
torn away part of his collar. Terrified, he had galloped 
off, in his perturbation missing the road, however, and 
never stopping till he reached the gate of Jerusalem. To 
his dismay, he found it closed, and the guards refused him 
admittance; there was nothing for it, therefore, but to 
ride back to Bethlehem. On the way he had been met by 
the Bishop's servants. 

To the very end of his stay in Syria and Palestine, 
Mr. Warburton met with dangers by the way. He was 

174 




A Daring Feat 

Mounted on a splendid horse, to which he gave spur, Warburton burst through the 
gateway of a village from which no strangers were ever known to come out, if they 
were foolhardy enough to enter. 



I 



I 



DANGERS BY THE WAY 

riding along the mountains towards Beyrout, at which 
place he intended to take his passage on board a home- 
ward-bound ship. He pushed on ahead, having business 
to get through in the port before the vessel sailed on the 
morrow. His muleteer in vain begged him not to 
adventure himself thus rashly by going alone, saying that 
the district was not only the haunt of robbers, but a 
hiding-place for smuggled goods. It was a wild and 
rugged country, moreover, and the very place for lawless 
deeds. The Englishman attributed all this to a super- 
abundant Eastern imagination, but he was not long in 
discovering that his servant had spoken the truth for once ! 

Riding along a very steep and slippery path, he 
descended somewhat, and, passing through a cemetery, 
observed lights twinkling at intervals along the hill. He 
noted that as he approached each one of these lights in 
turn, it was immediately put out, but only to reappear as 
soon as he was past. He took it that they were signals to 
smugglers away on the shore. He now took care to wrap 
something round the cap he was wearing, the red tarboosh 
of a Turkish soldier, knowing that the owner of such a 
thing would infallibly get a bullet through his head before 
long. As he approached a pass in the rocks four mounted 
scouts suddenly dashed out upon him, and, reining up 
close to him, demanded who he was and whither he was 
bound. "An Englishman travelling to Beyrout,"" he 
answered, and, after a moment's consultation, the fellows 
allowed him to proceed, rather to his surprise. 

About a mile farther on Warburton came upon a number 
of tents. It was one o'clock in the morning, the dead 
hour of night. To escape from so many men as were 

175 



A CRITICAL POSITION 

gathered here was practically impossible. Putting his 
usual bold face on the matter, he rode unhesitatingly up to 
the largest of the tents and dismounted, desiring one of 
the Arabs to lead his horse about a little ; then, asking 
for a light for his pipe, he placidly stretched himself out 
on the tent carpet. The scene was a most picturesque one, 
he tells us : high mountains frowning all around, the 
smugglers standing at the door of the tent, all with pistols 
and yataghans, the dew upon their shaggy beards, a 
glorious moon shining over all. But how critical was the 
stranger's position there, at dead of night, high on those 
lonely mountains, and at the mercy of men of violence 
who would stick at nothing ! No wonder he says of the 
picture that it was one "on which I gazed earnestly as 
it might be for the last time. I knew that if they robbed, 
they would also murder me, as the silence of those 6 who 
tell no tales' was important to them; and yet I lay 
smoking my pipe with as much calmness, if not indifference, 
as ever I did under the shelter of the English flag.' 1 Thus 
to assume a coolness he perhaps did not by any means feel 
was no doubt the traveller's only chance. 

Presently three ruffians of most forbidding aspect, and 
all squinting frightfully, approached nearer and glowered 
long and closely at the stranger, inquiring at length what 
had brought him there at that time of night. In answer 
to the question, he gave the same account of himself as 
before: he was an Englishman, and his servants were 
following him, a reply evidently disbelieved by the fellows. 
At that moment there came a surprise : a young Syrian 
made his appearance, and, speaking in French, informed 
Warburton in most kindly terms that he was in the 

176 



FAREWELL TO SYRIAN MOUNTAINS 

greatest possible danger, but that he would advise him to 
stay where he was till the morning. The Englishman 
thanked the young fellow, but replied that it was his 
intention to proceed at once on his journey. 

"I persisted in departing, and mounted my horse 
deliberately ; as I gathered up my reins, the three Arabs 
placed themselves in my way, and one attempted to catch 
my bridle ; I well knew then that my only chance of 
escape lay in resolution ; so, saying to my assailant, ' If you 
move, you die V the moonlight glimmered on the barrel of 
the pistol, the Syrian spoke a few hurried words whose 
meaning I could not catch, and the next moment I was 
past the smugglers, and out of their sight round a project- 
ing rock." Mr. Warburton had still a weary distance to 
travel that night, and knew nothing whatever of the 
arduous country through which his path lay, but he had 
escaped with his life, and next day saw him take his last 
leave of Beyrout and the Syrian mountains. 



177 



CHAPTER XV 

A NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE BRISTENSTOCK 

Spending the night on a great mountain under more favourable 
and under less favourable conditions — Mr. Kennedy and Mr. 
Hardy determine to attempt the Bristenstock, an unconquered 
Alp — A good start — Much time spent on early stages — Glacier, 
moraine, ridge — Repeated disappointments — Disposed to turn 
back — The summit spied — A long ( ' twenty minutes " — Stopped 
by a huge perpendicular precipice — No possible way down — A 
heart-breaking return to the top — Daylight ebbing out fast — 
Darkness comes on at five hundred feet from the summit — A 
dismal prospect— A bed on a narrow rock-shelf — A frugal 
supper and little sleep — Start half-frozen next morning — 
Wisdom not yet learnt — A new route — Another frightful preci- 
pice — Ridge after ridge attempted — A painful search for the 
original ridge — The grass slopes and safety at last — The search 
party met — The English reputation for pluck kept up — A 
lugubrious story — Enlightenment. 

One of the most trying experiences of the mountaineer is 
that of having to pass the long, cold hours of darkness, 
when night has come upon him unprepared, far away from 
human assistance or even human ken, high up on some 
lonely, storm-swept, and dangerous mountain-flank. To 
bivouac at a lofty elevation is, of course, no new thing to 
the experienced climber. Frequently a long and difficult 
ascent necessitates a start the evening before, when the 
long hours of night must perforce be spent on the moun- 

178 



NIGHT ON THE MOUNTAINS 

tain itself, at some spot agreed upon. But on such occa- 
sions the conditions are usually on the whole favourable. 
There may be a hut, which, however rude, is at any rate 
better than no shelter at all. Often a tent is carried up ; 
at the worst, the spot has probably some defence against 
the winds and possible storms. The bivouacking party is 
generally fairly numerous ; food and drink there are in 
plenty; not seldom a fire can be made. But it is quite 
otherwise when, as often happens, night overtakes belated 
climbers who are still far up the mountain; who have 
little or no food, and perhaps but a scanty supply of 
clothing with them ; who, possibly, can find nothing but 
the merest cornice whereon to rest through the night- 
watches. In such cases the dangers of the situation are 
generally great, and often appalling. A thrilling ex- 
perience of this kind befell Messrs. Kennedy and Hardy, 
two well-known English Alpine climbers, in the year 
1857. 

They were staying at Amsteg, on the St. Gothard 
road, in the Reuss Valley, and they took it into their 
heads to ascend the Bristenstock, a peak in the neighbour- 
hood which was said to be of only moderate height — some- 
thing over ten thousand feet, in fact — and it was thought 
that the summit might be reached in six hours from the 
hotel. Guides were, of course, pressed upon them, but 
they both laughed the notion to scorn, quite confident 
in their own power to find their way to the top of the 
Bristenstock and back unassisted. As the landlord after- 
wards admitted, none of the guides had ever been to the 
top ; and, indeed, it was said that only one man had ever 
ascended the mountain, and he had lost his life in the 

179 M 2 



A GOOD START 

descent ! An ominous story, but the Englishmen were 
not to be deterred by any sinister forebodings or ugly 
tales. 

The couple made an early start next morning, at five 
o'clock, leaving orders for a good dinner to be prepared 
for them at six in the evening. They were " in light 
marching order," as Mr. Kennedy puts it, having neither 
waistcoat nor necktie, and carrying with them only one 
lump of bread and a single bottle of wine. They meant 
to enjoy their dinner thoroughly on their return ! It was 
a grand morning, and the ascent was at first easy, while 
the country was beautiful. Chatting and admiring the 
splendid views which every fresh turn opened out to them, 
they made their way at a good speed, among Alpine roses 
and rhododendrons. The bay of Uri and the St. Gothard 
road lay far beneath, while from the valley below the sound 
of church bells floated up to the happy climbers. Every- 
thing promised a delightful and successful day. 

So fascinated were the two, indeed, that they were dis- 
posed to linger too long over this early stage of their work. 
But at length rousing themselves to the realities of the 
situation, they put on more speed. Avoiding the glacier 
which filled the great hollow on the north side of the 
mountain, they crossed the moraine, and then began to 
mount the rock -ridge bounding the glacier. The going 
was hard, the stones being loose and the slope steep. For 
hour after hour they plodded on manfully, gaining one 
after another the minor peaks which were ever appearing 
above their heads. At each of these little summits they 
hoped they should see the final crown of the Bristenstock, 
but as often they were doomed to disappointment. 

180 



THE SUMMIT SPIED 

Naturally enough, they began to get a little anxious ; 
for it was now past three o'clock in the afternoon, and the 
topmost peak was apparently as far off as ever. "It is 
getting late, Hardy," said his companion ; " it would be 
better to give it up and return, for we have many an hour's 
work behind us." But just then the other gained a glimpse 
of the summit, and cried that in twenty minutes they 
would have achieved their end. To leave the task after 
such preliminary labours was absurd, he declared. So 
Mr. Kennedy let himself be persuaded, and the two pushed 
on. The twenty minutes was found to be a bad guess, 
and it was almost four o'clock when the adventurous pair 
stood on the highest point of the mountain. Regardless in 
their joy of the flight of time, they sat down to eat and 
drink, and enjoy the prospect and the intoxication of 
success. Hardy was about to throw away a small piece of 
bread that was left of their provisions, when the more 
thoughtful Kennedy admonished him to put it in his 
pocket. 

It was twenty minutes after four when they began the 
descent ; there was certainly no time to be lost. Accord- 
ingly, Hardy was inclined to forsake the ridge by which 
they had safely, if laboriously, ascended, and take to what 
seemed a far easier way, down a gully. " It's rather fool- 
hardy to try a new route at this time of day," objected 
his companion. To which Hardy replied : a Don't make 
bad puns on my name ; there's no time for that." In the 
end they chose the new route. Whether they were " bold 
and self-reliant," or " rash and self-conceited," Mr. Ken- 
nedy declares they have never since been quite able to 
determine. 

181 



HEAVY WORK 

However, down the northern face of the mountain they 
began to pick their way. For half an hour they got on 
rapidly enough, but presently came a long spell of hard, 
almost sheer, climbing down. Only one of the men could 
advance at a time, in a general way, so arduous was the 
descent. One held the poles while the other got himself 
down the ledge. Now and then came places where it 
seemed impossible to descend at all. Nevertheless, Hardy 
talked cheerfully of the supper they would have at the 
end of their toilsome day ; he had long since given up all 
hope of sitting down to that six o'clock dinner at the 
hotel. For two hours this heavy work lasted, and we can 
well believe Mr. Kennedy when he states that during the 
whole of the time their "energies, both mental and bodily, 
were taxed to the uttermost." 

Suddenly they found themselves peering over the top of 
a perpendicular precipice hundreds — nay, thousands — of 
feet in height. At the foot of it was a glacier, which, as 
usual, was separated from the rock by a bergschrund. 
" From the spot where we were standing, 1 '' to quote Mr. 
Kennedy again, " the wall of rock appeared to go sheer 
down to the ice ; there was no mode of descent that we 
could possibly discover, and on neither hand could we 
discern foothold even for a chamois. I saw that there was 
nothing to be done where we were, and that it was impos- 
sible to remain much longer clinging to the slippery ledges 
of these precipitous rocks." In short, it was absolutely 
necessary to return to the very top of the mountain, and 
make a fresh start on their old path. 

A heart-breaking prospect, and at first Mr. Hardy 
expostulated vehemently. It was impossible, he said, to 

182 



A HEART-BREAKING RETURN 

reascend many of the rocks down which they had climbed 
with such difficulty. A return to the summit meant, too, 
that hope must be given up of supper and bed in the 
hotel. Mr. Kennedy remarked that if they got down the 
mountain at all that night it " would be in a way that 
would leave us no further occasion for these luxuries." 
Go back, therefore, they must, at whatever cost, and Mr. 
Hardy soon realized the wisdom of his friend's representa- 
tions. 

The position was an unenviable one, to say the least. 
Here they were, darkness coming on apace, suspended 
over a frightful precipice, and their only way out of the 
pass into which they had got themselves was to climb, 
climb, till their weary limbs should bring them to the very 
top of the mountain again. A couple of minutes, how- 
ever, ended their deliberations, and then they set off with 
a will, climbing faster than they had done before all the 
day. But the difficult places were many. Often one man 
had to cling with all his might to a tiny ledge while his 
companion climbed up to his shoulders, and so to the next 
shelf, whence he was able to help to pull up the first. It 
was dangerous and most exhausting toil. 

In order to save time they struck off a hundred feet or 
so short of the actual summit, and crossed to their line of 
first ascent. By this time the sun had set, and their chief 
anxiety was to push on while yet any daylight remained 
and get down as far as possible. They were by this time 
well aware, of course, that they would have to spend the 
night on the mountain. To get down out of the cold as 
far as they could was then the one thing to aim at. Yet, 
strange to relate, after all their experience, they once 

183 



DARKNESS COMES ON 

more deserted the old and certain path, the path by 
which they had mounted, deeming the ridge neither expe- 
ditious nor enough sheltered from the blasts. This time 
it was the west face of the mountain they selected, over- 
looking the St. Gothard road far away below. 

At five hundred feet from the summit — the elevation 
still nearly ten thousand feet above sea-level, be it remem- 
bered — the light failed, and it was necessarily the end of 
their day's travel. Here the benighted pair must spend 
the long, dark, cold hours, with no fire to warm them and 
no food to speak of to put into their stomachs. Not even 
a rug or a greatcoat had they to protect them from the 
severity of the weather and the keenness of the frost. 
The situation was a deplorable one. It might become far 
worse than that. 

The two were minded to stop here rather than attempt 
to grope a few feet farther down, by the discovery of a 
tiny ledge jutting from the rock slope, perhaps the only 
ledge to be met with on the whole face of the mountain. 
The shelf was but eight feet long and four and a half 
wide. From the edge the cliff fell almost sheer down to 
the valley beneath. On the danger side they built a wall 
of stones, half a yard high, both to prevent a roll over- 
board in their sleep and to afford some little protection 
from the wind. On the flat of the shelf they made as soft 
a bed as they could with smooth stones, placing bigger 
specimens for their heads. The piece of bread they had 
left was small enough in all conscience, yet they divided it 
into two portions, reserving one for breakfast in the morn- 
ing. Water was to be had near, and the men turned 
in for the night. 

184 



A DANGEROUS SLEEPING-PLACE 

" We were obliged to use the greatest care in this 
operation. First one made himself comfortable, then the 
other cautiously placed himself alongside and endeavoured 
to do likewise. Although we agreed that, in order to 
avoid the risk of falling over, we would not both sleep 
with our backs to the precipice, yet ever and anon as we 
leaned a little against our fragile wall of stones one or two 
of them would become displaced and go bounding away 
into the valley some thousands of feet below. Thus we 
reposed, locked in each others arms like the babes in the 
wood, whom the robins covered with leaves, only in the 
present instance there were no babes and no wood, and no 
robins and no leaves." 

Long they lay awake, as may well be supposed. Yet 
they were not inclined to talk much. In truth, each was 
disposed to reflection rather than to conversation. Never, 
Mr. Kennedy says, had either of them before felt so 
immediately under the protection of a Higher Power as 
they did on that lofty mountain-side. They fully realized 
how dangerous their position might become should storm 
or fog come on. They were aware that their very lives 
depended on their preserving coolness, self-possession, and 
determined pluck. But never once did they lapse into 
despair. 

The cold increased. Presently it grew intense, and the 
two were all but frozen stiff. Often they had to get up 
on their feet, as carefully as they could, to stamp a little 
warmth into them, and to swing their arms about their 
chests, as cabmen do in frosty weather. On more than 
one occasion in his life Mr. Hardy had suffered from 
rheumatic fever, and he had been warned against exposing 

185 



HALF-FROZEN 

himself too much to the keen night air. It may here be 
mentioned that, strange as it may seem, that night on the 
Bristenstock apparently effected a complete cure for him. 
After that he was more robust than he had ever been 
before ! 

But the longest and most uncomfortable night passes, 
and so did this. It needs little imagination to see the 
Englishmen rising with alacrity from their cold, stony 
bed. But so frozen were they both that it would have 
been mere madness on their part to start at once, benumbed 
as were their limbs. It required twenty minutes of violent 
stamping and slapping to get any warmth and feeling 
into their feet and hands. They ate the last morsel of 
bread before they got under way, though they had not 
the slightest appetite, a thing not to be wondered at. 
Drink they could get none, the little rill being frozen up. 

Now, as Mr. Kennedy says, " one might have supposed 
that the lesson of yesterday would have sufficed, and that 
we should have taken care to follow the ridge by which 
we had ascended. Not so, however. Instead of returning 
to the track which we knew, half wilfully, half carelessly, 
we suffered ourselves to be tempted by apparently easy 
places, and thus to leave the ridge at every step further 
and further to the right.'" They had to pay the full 
penalty of their rash unwisdom. They found the work of 
descending laborious and trying to a degree. They were, 
of course, much exhausted, and they could get no water 
till six o'clock, and suffered terribly from thirst. 

The wearisome hours passed, and the men began to 
congratulate themselves that they were nearing the grass 
slopes, and that easy ground was at hand, Alas ! the 

186 



FRIGHTFUL PRECIPICES 

ridge on which they were ended suddenly in sheer preci- 
pices. They stopped short at the very brink, and gazed 
down at the River Reuss, a good five thousand feet 
below. 

The travellers here explain that the Bristenstock is 
made up of thirty or forty main ridges, running up 
towards the top, of which ridges not more than three or 
four, perhaps, are practicable. They skirted the mountain 
till they reached another of these ridges, and attempted to 
get down by it. In no long time they were stopped by 
more precipices. They found a running rill, however, and 
obtained a much-needed drink. A third, and yet a 
fourth, of these main ridges was tried, but always fruit- 
lessly. Thus the morning was consumed, and noon 
arrived, the travellers apparently in as great a difficulty 
as ever. 

Mr. Hardy now made a wise suggestion — namely, that 
they should keep on round the mountain till they reached 
the ridge by which they had mounted the day before. 
With joy they perceived, after hard toil, their original 
track. They found it excellent going after the ground 
they had had to traverse, yet it was at best but a goat- 
track, and so steep and risky that the men dared not take 
their eyes from their work to gaze around. At last, 
about half-past two in the afternoon, they stood on the 
first of the grass slopes, to their utter relief and 
thankfulness. 

Up to that moment they had not been conscious of 
hunger and fatigue, but now that the worst of the 
descent, and most, if not all, of the danger was over, they 
became painfully aware of their physical condition. They 

187 



USELESS GUIDES 

were still five or six thousand feet above sea-level, and 
weary hours from their hotel. Push on they niust, how- 
ever great their weariness. On their way down they spied 
some chalets in the distance, and joyfully made for them, 
in the hope of getting bread and milk. They found not a 
soul there. 

Meanwhile, there was no small stir at Amsteg as to 
what had become of the adventurous and rash Englishmen, 
and at length a little party of their friends set out to look 
for them. Guides were engaged to accompany the search 
party, though, as has been already explained, none of the 
guides knew any more of the mountain than did the 
strangers. And, as a matter of fact, the guides on this 
occasion were found to be quite useless. Whenever they 
came to a dangerous bit of the mountain they drew back in 
terror. 

One of the first to spy the lost mountaineers was an 
English lad, who yelled out in delight, " Oh, is that you, 
Mr. Kennedy ? I am so glad P The meeting between 
the lost ones and their friends was warm, we may be sure, 
and a sort of triumphal procession was formed to the 
hotel. The boy was specially anxious that the reputation 
of his countrymen for pluck should be kept up, and, 
accordingly, Messrs. Hardy and Kennedy did their best to 
maintain their character in this respect. The hotel was 
reached at five o'clock, or six-and-thirty hours from the 
start the previous day. Fortunately neither suffered any 
serious effects afterwards from the long toil and the 
exposure to cold, hunger, and danger. 

It is worth recording that the most strange and 
exaggerated rumours respecting this ascent got abroad, 

188 



A LUGUBRIOUS STORY 

and soon spread far and wide in the Alpine districts. 
A week later, for instance, Mr. Hardy himself and his 
friend Mr. Ellis were at dinner at the hotel on the distant 
Faulhorn, when an old gentleman began to tell of the 
marvellous adventures of a couple of Englishmen on the 
Bristenstock. The two unfortunates had perished miser- 
ably, he said, while attempting their unheard-of feat. 
"In fact, 1 ' the old fellow declared, "according to my 
informant, nothing was found of their mangled corpses 
except some small particles of blood-stained clothing. r> 
" That I can well understand,"" thereupon put in Mr. 
Hardy, "for I am one of those unfortunates, and I 
remember that in many parts of the climb I was obliged 
to sit down and allow myself to slide over the rocks, so 
that I afterwards found myself minus a portion of my 
nether integument, and these, no doubt, are the patches 
of raiment the discovery of which you relate." 



189 



CHAPTER XVI 

PEAKS, GEYSERS, AND VOLCANOES 

A trip to Iceland not so common fifty years ago — Commander Forbes 
starts on one in 1860 — A jolting vehicle — A marvellous jumble 
of things — A start for the top of Snaefells Yokul — The guides 
and. their families in tears — The snow-line reached — Also the fog 
— At an angle of forty-five degrees — A heavy snowstorm — Ropes 
used — Ugly crevasses — Guides strike work — A halt for lunch — 
Another climb — Fog worse than ever — A descent necessary — The 
ponies lost — " Like a bear round his pole " — On the way to the 
Great Geyser — Yawning fissures and abysses — A tent rigged up 
near the Geyser — Supper and a final pipe — A scramble to wind- 
ward just in time — A grand display — The ff Strokr" follows 
suit at four in the morning — Forbes determines to cook the 
dinner in the (c Strokr " — A flannel shirt and a breast of mutton 
— f ' My shirt in mid-air, arms extended " — ' ' Done to a turn " — A 
narrow escape from Davy Jones —Up Hecla — A crawl into the 
cold crater of 1846 — Layers of ice at the bottom — Descent into 
the active crater — No hole at the bottom — Steam from various 
parts of the sides — Forbes lights his pipe from the hot ground — 
On the edge of the crater — A risky crawl — Skaptar Yokul and 
its terrible work — A too rapid descent. 

A visit to Iceland, once thought to be quite beyond the 
reach of the ordinary traveller, is in these days a common 
enough thing. Not so did Commander Forbes esteem it, 
however, when, in the year 1860, he made his way thither ; 
for it had been the dream of his life to explore that land 
of volcano and geyser. His earlier experiences in the 

190 



UNDESIRABLE LODGINGS 

island included nothing more exciting than a few hunting 
and fishing expeditions, when his dogs managed to worry 
the farmers' 1 sheep, and the driver of his vehicle contrived to 
jolt off his gun -case and to smash his salmon-rod. Some of 
the country farms at which he found a lodging, though owned 
by the most hospitable of hosts, were not exactly such as 
even an unfastidious man would desire. The evening meal 
was not seldom being cooked by " a crone who is not at all 
calculated to increase one's appetite by her appearance.'" 
There was a marvellous jumble of things in the dwellings : 
"old clothes and spinning-jennies, fishing-nets and cradles 
(in one a litter of kittens, in another the hope of the 
family), strings of wet stockings, and dogs at every step. 
Happily they bark, but do not bite. Coupled with this a 
darkness thoroughly Egyptian, and an atmosphere which 
might be cut with a knife, and you have the ground floor." 
Of the upstairs, or sleeping-floor, entered by a ladder and 
a little hatchway, the less said the better. 

Amongst the important things which the gallant Com- 
mander wanted to see in Iceland, quite in the front rank 
stood the mountain Snaefells Yokul, the geysers, and 
"Strokr," with the volcano Hecla, and its once more 
terrible brother Skaptar Yokul. The ascent of Snaefells 
Yokul was to begin the series. The weather had been as 
bad as it well could be for a fortnight, but the traveller 
determined to make the attempt, in spite of it. Guides 
in the proper sense there were none, for nobody knew any- 
thing more than himself of the parts above the snow-line. 
He managed to get a couple of peasants to go with him, 
however. The villagers evidently looked upon the expedi- 
tion as equivalent to committing suicide, and many were 

191 



FOG AND SNOW 

the tears shed, and many the mournful good-byes, when 
the moment came for the start. 

The ascent was very steep for the first two thousand 
feet, and the way lay through heaps of ashes and pumice- 
stone, over most of which ground the little ponies bravely 
carried their riders. As yet there was no lava, but the ground 
was without a scrap of vegetation. Then, after stumb- 
ling amongst volcanic accumulations for two or three 
miles, the three reached the snow-line. With the snow 
was encountered also the fog, which threatened to become 
tiresome. From this point the ponies were of no use, and 
they were tied head to tail, in such a fashion that they 
could not get far away, and the men went on without 
them, first putting on their spiked shoes. The climbers 
were chilled and stiff after their three hours' ride. Now 
and then the fog lifted enough to show them the next 
shoulder of the mountain, but never a glimpse could they 
catch of the three cones which constitute the summit of 
Snaefells Yokul. On they plodded, up an icy slope at an 
angle of forty-five degrees, and took it as a sign of good 
luck when they found a rusty horseshoe. This was probably 
a relic of a former ascent, made fifty years before, by 
Mackenzie. 

With the fog driving thicker than ever along the 
mountain-sides, the men pushed on, having no guide 
except the upward slope, for the Englishman's pockei>- 
compass was temporarily bewitched, as he says, and did 
nothing but spin round and round in an extraordinary 
way. Luckily the ice was free from crevasses, but as they 
could not see a yard before them, the Commander thought 
it best to rope, Alpine fashion, a new thing for the Ice- 

192 



GUIDES STRIKE WORK 

landers. The steepness increased, and the murmurings of 
the peasants also. Forbes had frequently to cheer them 
on, and to give them brandy and snuff to keep them going. 
After passing one or two ugly crevasses, the Icelanders 
declared they would go no farther. By this time it was 
snowing hard, almost blinding the three. So the leader 
deemed it best to stop for lunch, hoping for an improve- 
ment in the weather by the time the meal was over. 

Alas ! the weather did not improve ; and yet, as the cold 
was unbearable, it was necessary to be on the move again. 
With difficulty the leader persuaded his men to mount a 
little higher. He had been careful to make them keep 
their feet well embedded in snow all the lunch-time — a very 
necessary precaution, if frost-bites were to be avoided. 
Soon the three were wandering blindly in a labyrinth of 
snowdrifts and yawning crevasses, and the adventure 
began to grow exciting, to say the least of it, for where they 
were they did not know in the least. The disappointment 
to Forbes was great and galling, but it had to be faced. 
It was useless to persevere in the attempt to reach one of 
the cones of the summit, and they must set their faces 
downwards. His decision to that effect sent the Ice- 
landers into ecstasies of joy. 

Rapidly, and almost recklessly, the three men began to 
slide down the snow-slopes. Their track of the morning 
was long since effaced by the falling snow, while the dense- 
ness of the fog was such that it would not have been easy 
to trace the marks had they remained. But Forbes took 
care of his men, continuing the roping. Quite lost among 
the hillocks and hummocks of ashes, of lava, of snow, they 
nevertheless rattled on anywhere, so long as it was in a 

193 N 



THE GEYSER DISTRICT 

downward direction. When at last they got clear of the 
snow — and the fog with it — they found themselves three 
miles to the westward of the point where they had left 
their ponies. But the sun was bright and pleasant, and 
after a good time spent in the search, the poor beasts were 
found huddled together, and almost buried in the snow 
that had fallen upon them. The descent to the village 
and their reception there were the most cheerful imaginable. 
Commander Forbes, however, was mightily chagrined by 
his failure, and for days afterwards he prowled about the 
foot of the mountain like a bear round his pole. But it 
was of no use ; the weather would not mend, and he had 
to take his departure from the locality. 

Then began his journey towards the Geyser district, and 
a very rough journey it proved. One pitch-dark night it 
was necessary to get a guide to see them safely past the 
"winding fissures and abysses which yawned in every 
direction." The fissures, he says, were " as numerous and 
very similar to the cracks in the rind of an overripe 
melon, only that they are from twenty to fifty feet deep, 
until the surface of the water is reached, which again, 
from its azure hue, may be of any depth." Not a thing was 
visible, and it was only by trusting blindly to the little 
Iceland ponies that it was possible to come in safety out of 
such a maze of difficulties. 

Fording many an icy cold river, struggling across broad 
marshes, toiling over mountain shoulders, crossing lava- 
fields, our traveller at length, rounding a corner of a hill, 
came in sight of the steam of the Great Geyser. He left 
his ponies at a farm about a quarter of a mile away. But 
he had no intention of spending the night there himself; 



NEAR THE GREAT GEYSER 

he wanted to be nearer the scene of action. A couple of 
tents had been left here by a generous-hearted Frenchman 
for the benefit of future travellers to the spot, and one of 
these Forbes ordered to be carried along to the Geyser. 
Then he himself stumbled over the rough ground to the 
place. The water was bubbling in the funnel, and clouds 
of steam were coming off and being driven before the 
wind, and from every orifice little jets of hot water escaped, 
while around, "a slough of blue mud was bubbling and 
simmering, in the neighbourhood of which one was soon 
ankle-deep in hot clay. Passing the 6 Strokr,' in violent 
paroxysms, I crossed the grass-plat which curiously inter- 
venes, and, ascending its regularly formed cone, stood on 
the edge of the Great Geyser, full to the brim, bubbling 
and seething in its centre, and heralding an approaching 
eruption by repeated subterranean detonations, which 
vibrated, not only through its immediate framework, but 
the surrounding soil." 

Near this the Englishman set up his tent, putting 
plenty of dry hay on the floor. It was pitched in such a 
position that the water and steam would be carried away 
from it in case of an eruption, but he was not at all easy 
about it. The farmer declared the Geyser would behave 
well, and they went in to supper, after which the Com- 
mander was left for the night. He had just lit his last 
pipe before dropping off to sleep, when suddenly "the 
earth yearned under me to a wild detonating chorus from 
below. I scrambled out just in time to be enveloped 
in volumes of steam, and to hear the trickle of the waters 
which overflowed their limits, and had scarcely groped my 
way to windward of the basin, when in one frantic effort 

195 N 2 



A GRAND DISPLAY 

it belched forth its boiling bowels in a massive column 
about sixty feet in height, and, radiating at its climax, 
showered bouquets of water and vapour in every direction.*" 
Then, as if exhausted, the waters sank to rest, and the 
watcher followed their example. 

The Great Geyser made two or three more little de- 
monstrations during the night, but they proved false 
alarms. About four in the morning, however, the 
" Strokr," lying a hundred yards or so away, had its turn. 
It had no cone, the orifice being level with the ground, so 
that a short-sighted man might almost have walked into 
it before he was aware. For thirty-seven minutes did the 
" Strokr " keep up its ornamental display, the forms the 
water assumed being much more graceful, if less lofty, 
than those of the Great Geyser. 

Now, the " Strokr "' is of an irritable nature, and can 
easily be tormented into angry convulsions. Forbes de- 
termined to take advantage of this propensity in a novel 
way. He invited the parson and the squire to his tent, 
had brandy and coffee sent in, and then promised his 
friends a hot dinner. He took his spare clean flannel 
shirt, and in it he placed a breast of mutton, while a 
brace of ptarmigan were also tied up, one in each sleeve. 
His next step was to gather a goodish pile of turf and 
place it close to the mouth of the funnel. He estimated 
for a forty-minute dose of turf, he tells us. When all 
was ready, he kicked in his pile, and then flung his shirt 
and its contents after the turf. While the cooking was 
going on down below, the coffee was kept warm by the 
geyser, and the friends took a little brandy together, 
Northern fashion. 

196 




An original way of Cooking a Meal 

Captain Forbes promised his friends a hot dinner. He wrapped a breast of mutton and 
a brace of ptarmigan in a clean shirt, throwing first some turf, then the bundle into the 
funnel of the geyser, and more turf on the top of them. Forty-seven minutes later an 
eruption took place, and the meal was shot up cooked to a turn. 



i 



DONE TO A TURN 

The forty minutes passed, but no sign of an eruption, 
and the cook grew anxious about his mutton. He began 
to get ready another pile of turf to administer. But it 
was not needed ; only seven minutes after time the dinner- 
bell sounded — to wit, the geyser began to be noisy. 
Then " came a tremendous eruption, and, surrounded with 
steam and turf-clods, I beheld my shirt in mid-air, arms 
extended, like a headless and tailless trunk. It fell life- 
less by the brink. But we were not to dine yet ; so well 
corked had been the steam-pipe below that it let out with 
more than usual viciousness, and forbade dishing up under 
pain of scalding. After about a quarter of an hour in a 
temporary lull, I recovered my garment, and turned out 
my dinner on the grass before my grave guests. 1 '' The 
mutton was done to a turn ; the ptarmigan overcooked ; 
the shirt not a penny the worse, save that the dye had run. 

On his way to Hecla, up which he meant to go, if 
possible, Forbes had to cross the Thiorsa, the longest and 
biggest river in the island — as long as the Thames, in fact. 
The ferryman had to be fetched from a hayfield ; then the 
best of three crazy boats was chosen, and the men got 
into it. The ponies were to swim behind, if they could 
be induced to do so. Forbes had with him a farmer and 
a guide, and hard work it was to persuade their beasts to 
take the water. They had fairly to be pulled in, and 
then towed behind. It took the guide all his time to bail 
out the water, so badly did the craft leak. And there 
was another danger ahead : not far away the river leapt 
down a cataract, and the boat was coming perilously near. 
However, the men managed to ground it on the further 
shore just in time to prevent men and beasts from going 

197 



UP HECLA 

over. A pleasant gallop of nearly twenty miles, and the 
fording of another river, brought the party fairly to the 
foot of the famous volcano, where the night was spent. 

Next morning in good time the traveller was on his 
way up Hecla, accompanied by a farmer of the neighbour- 
hood as guide. As in the case of Snaefells Yokul, the 
trusty Iceland ponies carried the men to the snow-line ; 
as before, too, the animals were left, tied head to tail, to 
await their master's return. There was a little mist cling- 
ing about the upper parts of the mountain, but otherwise 
the day was fine. After an hour or two of hard climbing 
up a very steep face, the two men reached an old cone, 
now not in action, or, rather, they reached a sort of vent- 
hole in the side of it. Along this dark tunnel they made 
their way, till at length the light appeared, and they 
emerged into the crater. To the Englishman's surprise, 
there was not the slightest trace of heat about this disused 
cone of 1846, and, indeed, the bottom of the crater was 
covered with a considerable thickness of ice. The cup 
was a hundred and fifty feet deep, and its sides were far 
too steep to be climbed, so the two men had perforce to 
make their way back through the same dark hole. 

Commander Forbes was not going to be satisfied without 
a peep into an active crater, so he and his companion 
continued their steep upward scramble. At noon they 
had gained the summit of that one of the three cones 
which was in working order, and standing on the brink of 
the crater, they looked down into a hollow nearly circular 
and about half a mile in circumference, the depth being 
apparently between two and three hundred feet. From 
various parts of the sides of this vast hole little clouds 

198 



DESCENT INTO THE CRATER 

of steam were ascending. There was some snow lying 
unmelted in one or two parts, but the main portion was 
bare and black. 

The Englishman, under the guidance of the farmer, 
descended cautiously into this forbidding hollow. So 
much the shape of a funnel was the crater, that at the 
bottom it came almost to a point. There was no hole 
down into the bowels of the earth, as, perhaps, the visitor 
had expected ; on the contrary, and much to his wonder- 
ment, there was a deposit of dried mud there, with a 
thickness of ice on the top of it. Yet a glance around 
showed many smoking portions along the steep sides of 
the cup. At one such place, about half-way down, and 
amongst incrustations of sulphur, Forbes began to dig 
away the crust. He soon found the ground hot enough 
to light a fusee, and, later on, his pipe. He sat down — in 
a somewhat cooler place, of course — and, gazing around, 
began to think that after all it was not in the least a 
fearful thing to sit in the very crater of one of the chief 
European volcanoes. 

But when he reflected that for nine centuries this same 
crater had, time after time, belched forth its fires with 
terrible destruction ; that at the last eruption but one — -in 
the year 1766 — it had hurled "its red-hot stones to an 
almost fabulous distance, and powdered the southern and 
central districts with sand, some of which had almost 
reached the Faroes" — when he called all this to mind, he 
was disposed to feel much more respect for the mountain. 
As for the farmer, he shook his head ; he had lost not 
only property, but ancestors, in eruptions from that very 
spot where they were sitting. 

199 



A RISKY CRAWL 

Now creeping with difficulty up the rough, steep sides, 
they came out once more upon the edge of the crater, and 
crawled along it to the northern side of the summit. 
Their position on this narrow ledge was anything but a 
safe one. On the one hand, the ground sloped pre- 
cipitously down to the bottom of the crater they had just 
left; on the other, for at least a thousand feet, the 
mountain - side dropped almost sheer. Moreover, the 
footing was loose and rickety, and only fit for a chamois, 
Forbes tells us. And when their feet displaced any of 
the loose stuff on which they were treading, it darted off 
on its downward way at a terrific rate. They saw the 
other two cones not far away, but no other crater on 
Hecla. The eastern face of the mountain to which they 
proceeded was truly awful, for three thousand feet it was 
wellnigh perpendicular. 

The view from the top of the famous volcano was 
magnificent. Peak after peak could they see ; vast ice- 
fields stretched over whole districts ; other volcano cones 
stood out here and there ; his old friend, the Great Geyser, 
showed himself in spotless white. But there was one peak 
on which the stranger's eye rested in fascination — namely, 
the terrible Skaptar Yokul, which had wrought the fright- 
ful destruction remembered by Icelanders then living. 

It was in the year 1783 that this fearful eruption of 
Skaptar Yokul took place, and it was one of the most 
dreadful catastrophes of the kind in modern times. " In 
one gigantic effort it destroyed twenty villages, over nine 
thousand human beings, and about one hundred and fifty 
thousand sheep, cattle, and horses, partly by the depreda- 
tions of the lava and noxious vapours, and in part by 

200 



A TOO RAPID DESCENT 

famine, caused by showers of ashes and the desertion of the 
coasts by the fish.'''' 

The descent to the ponies came near to having a tragic 
ending. Forbes began to descend en glissade, and the 
farmer, not to be outdone, attempted the same feat. 
Alas! he wore moccasins, and thus had no grip on the 
soft snow. " He was soon making headlong tracks for the 
lava-field beneath, whilst I with bated breath quivered for 
the result, and I was inexpressibly relieved when he brought 
up in a snowdrift a few yards from total destruction.'' 1 



201 



CHAPTER XVII 

WITH TYNDALL ON THE WEISSHORN 

Alpine ascents belong to recent times only — Professor Tyndall 
determines to try the hitherto unconquered and queenly 
Weisshorn — The start with two guides — The effect of a draught 
of milk — The bivouac on the mountain — An early morning 
start — Difficulties — The two rock towers — A fearful cleft — 
A risky crossing on a snow-covered rock-wall — Avalanches of 
stones — The peak apparently no nearer — Renewed efforts — 
Despair — The climbers take heart again — At last the summit 
within reach — The mountain conquered — An improvised flag — 
The descent begun — The men stupefied with fatigue — The rock- 
wall again — Fearful slopes — A difficult precipice — A second 
precipice — An extraordinary fall of stones — A third precipice — ■ 
"Where a chamois can ascend a man may descend " — Safe down 
at last. 

A couple of hundred years back the great mountains were 
objects of dread and horror, terrible and fatal monsters to 
be avoided. Did fate compel our forefathers to traverse 
the wild gorge, or to struggle over the lofty storm -swept 
pass, their sole thought was how they should best and 
soonest get themselves safely away from such dread spots. 
The notion of ascending a mighty Alpine peak for pleasure 
had scarce entered the heart of man two or three genera- 
tions ago. Even forty or fifty years since many of the 
proud summits had never been trodden by the foot of man 
— the Weisshorn, the Aiguille du Dru, the marvellous 

202 



PIONEER MOUNTAIN-CLIMBERS 

Matterhorn. Now there is not a giant snow-capped peak 
among them all which has not been scaled by daring 
mountaineers. 

In these achievements no mean part has been played by 
our British countrymen. More than one of the most 
inaccessible and dangerous of the Alps have been first 
reached by hardy mountaineers from these Britannic 
islands — a Whymper, a Tyndall, a Conway. And there 
are man}' more whose names are worthy to stand with 
these. 

It was in the year 1861 that there came to Professor 
Tyndall the ambition of ascending the beautiful Weiss- 
horn, "an object scarcely less grand, conveying, it maybe, 
even a deeper impression of majesty and might, than the 
Matterhorn itself — the Weisshorn, perhaps the most 
splendid object in the Alps." 

Many had been the attempts to master this grand 
mountain, " by brave and competent men," too, but it had 
never been scaled, and the difficulties in the way of a 
successful ascent were said to be enormous, if not insur- 
mountable. It was not that the Weisshorn is the highest 
of the Alpine peaks ; it is a thousand feet lower than the 
kingly Mont Blanc. But then, as Tyndall says, " height 
is but one element in the difficulty of a niountain. r> 

The professor started from Randa, taking with him two 
guides — Benen, one of the most competent and trust- 
worthy of his class, and Wenger. It was an hour after 
midday, and the party proposed to spend the night on a 
ledge of rock that had been selected for their bivouac. 
Tyndall had been not at all well the previous evening, and 
he was in but indifferent condition for an expedition so 

203 



BIVOUAC ON THE MOUNTAIN 

arduous. Luckily, on the way up the lower slopes he was 
able to obtain from a chalet copious draughts of fresh 
milk to quench the burning thirst from which he suffered. 
The effect was as satisfactory as it was astonishing, and 
the climber went on his way another man, ready for any 
work that might come to him. 

A couple of hours later the resting-place for the night 
was reached. A ledge jutted out from the rock-face, and 
it was beneath this the men camped. It was a grand 
vantage-ground, commanding a full and magnificent view 
of peak after peak. Their goal for the morrow, the 
summit of the lovely Weisshorn itself, was not to be seen 
from that exact spot, but Tyndall and Benen managed 
before retiring to rest, to get a view of the peak from 
another standpoint, not far away from the camp. And to 
tell the truth, this sight of the mountain-top] rather dis- 
mayed them, so remote and so inaccessible did it appear. 
However, after a supper of toasted cheese and coffee the 
men turned in, Tyndall wriggling himself into the two 
sacks he had had made from rugs. But not to sleep, for 
hardly once did the professor lose consciousness of what 
was passing around. The "unspeakably grand" sunset 
was succeeded by a magnificent display of stars. Then 
the air grew cold, too cold to admit of sleep — at any rate, 
for the Englishman. In truth he was presently chilled to 
the bone, and had much ado to endure till Benen gave the 
signal to rise. 

By half-past three the party had had early morning 
coffee and were on their way again. Crossing the white, 
cold drifts and a stretch of tangled glacier, they reached a 
couloir, which was full of hard-frozen snow. This they 

204 



DIFFICULTIES 

had after a time to leave, to take to the rocks. Then 
came a saddle of snow, and after that still higher rocks, 
where they had two hours of severe climbing, " the bend- 
ing, twisting, reaching, and drawing-up, calling upon all 
the muscles of the frame. " From their ridge they could 
spy a couple of men far below. Many climbers at Randa 
had been desirous of accompanying the Englishman, but 
he had judged it better to go without them. The men 
below were no doubt two of the disappointed ones. 

But greater difficulties were at hand. At one point, 
standing on a sort of rocky tower, they found themselves 
facing a similar tower, and between the two a deep, yawn- 
ing gap. It seemed as if all farther progress was now out 
of the question. But Benen was equal to the occasion. 
Coiling the rope round his waist, he managed to scramble 
to the bottom of the great cleft — a wonderful performance. 
Where one man had gone others might follow, and in due 
time both Tyndall and Wenger also stood at the bottom. 
Then came the task of scaling the opposing rock-tower, 
and a most difficult and exhausting, if not a dangerous, 
piece of work it was found to be. Once up, the men took 
to the arete, or a sloping corner ridge of the mountain. A 
long pull on this at length brought them to a place risky 
indeed. 

The arete had gradually become narrower and narrower, 
till now it had shrunk to the breadth of a mere wall. The 
top of this wall was hidden by a covering of snow. 
Imagine the position. For fully twenty yards this snow- 
covered ledge ran on, till it reached the next rocks. The 
precipices on either hand were almost sheer, and ran down 
to frightful depths. It seemed mere madness to stand on 

205 



A RISKY CROSSING 

the knife-edge of snow, which would surely give way in 
a moment and hurl the adventurer to the abyss below. 
Tyndall had no notion that any human being would trust 
himself on such a place. But he was soon undeceived, for, 
to his astonishment, Benen, first trying the snow with his 
foot, calmly began to walk across. " Even after the pressure 
of his feet the space he had to stand on did not exceed a 
handbreath. I followed him, exactly as a boy walking 
along a horizontal pole, with toes turned outwards. 
Right and left the precipices were appalling ; but the 
sense of power on such occasions is exceedingly sweet. We 
reached the opposite rock, and here a smile rippled over 
Benen's countenance as he turned towards me. He knew 
that he had done a daring thing.'" 

And now a danger of a new kind had to be faced. The 
rocks on the ridge were much shattered and very loose. It 
required extreme care to avoid setting some of them 
rolling down the steep. The thing was not to be avoided, 
in fact, and great masses of rock were from time to time 
dislodged. These in their flight downwards set in motion 
others, till at length numbers of them were hissing and 
booming with ever-increasing speed down the mountain- 
side, to rest only when they had reached the vast snow- 
fields, thousands of feet below. The risk to those follow- 
ing, if the first climber set going in their direction any of 
the loose rocks he met with, was naturally very great. 
However, with care and success the men toiled on, though 
the heat was so intolerable as to cause profusest perspiration. 

On their way up the mountain they were for the most 
part unable to see the summit, but now and then they 
caught a glimpse of it from some coign of vantage. Such 

206 




Crossing the knife edge during the Weisshorn ascent 

The foothold was like the top of an immensely high wall. The mountaineers had to 
walk about twenty yards with almost sheer precipices on either hand. 



THE PEAK FAR DISTANT 

an occasion came after they had been three hours on the 
arete, — that is, five hours from the morning start. It 
seemed not so far distant, and both guides and employer 
were in good heart at the sight. Never were appearances 
more deceptive. Three more hours of heavy work on the 
arete brought another glimpse of the crown. The moun- 
taineers were taken aback ; the top appeared not a whit 
nearer. With keen dismay they gazed on the far-off peak. 
Benen^s face declared his thoughts, while Wenger's 
condition had become so unsatisfactory that the others 
proposed to leave him behind while they went on without 
him. But of this the plucky fellow would not hear, and, 
indeed, none of the men had the least thought of giving in, 
at any rate for the present. 

On the three went again, therefore, plodding wearily 
towards another pinnacle ahead, from which they judged 
they would be able to see the summit once more. With 
what eagerness mingled with anxiety did they, after long 
and severe toil, gain the spot ! Alas ! the summit now 
appeared " hopelessly distant." Even Benen gave way for 
the moment to despair. 

" Dear sir," he cried, " the peak is still far away up 
there !" 

At this point Tyndall thought it well to intimate that 
he was ready to abandon the attempt and return to Randa. 
This he did lest Benen, in his anxiety to please his 
employer, should be led to go on imprudently. However, 
Benen took food, and a good drink of wine, feeling 
wonderfully better at once. He took another look at 
the far-away peak ; hope returned to him, and he cried 
firmly : 

207 



SUMMIT WITHIN REACH 

" Sir, we must win it !" 

Tyndall was delighted, feeling how like this was to the 
British spirit which does not know when it is beaten. 
Such thoughts, he declares, helped to lift him over the rocks. 

Then at it again with a will, the course directed towards 
another eminence in the distance, from which it was 
believed that yet once more a view would be gained of the 
top. The toilers had their reward. When once the height 
had been scaled, " above us, but clearly within reach, a 
silvery pyramid projected itself against the blue sky. I was 
assured by my companions that it was the highest point 
before I ventured to stake my faith upon the assertion. I 
feared that it also might take rank with the illusions which 
had so often beset our ascent, and shrunk from the conse- 
quent moral shock." 

The guides were right, as happily it proved. Wearied, 
but in good heart, the three crept up the long knife-edge 
of pure, white snow that terminated in a little point. The 
point was gained ; an eager look around followed ; there 
was no part of the mountain now above them. Their feet 
stood on the very summit of the queenly and hitherto 
unconquered Weisshorn ! It was a glorious moment, and 
the guides relieved their excited feelings by mad shouts and 
yells, again and again repeated. Far below, on a crag, the 
other two men from Randa could be seen, and shouts of 
triumph were sent down to them. 

Tyndall and his men had no flag, so a makeshift in the 
shape of an axe -handle with a red pocket-handkerchief 
attached was fixed in the snow, and it was seen from the 
RifFel Hotel, some days later, by the professor himself and 
his friend Mr. Francis Galton. 

208 



THE DESCENT 

But it is one thing to get up such a mountain as the 
Weisshorn ; it is often quite another, and sometimes even 
a more difficult, thing to get down again, and so the three 
men found it. They had been climbing continuously for 
ten hours since their early morning turn-out of camp ; 
they were weary and stiff to a degree. Yet the day was 
advancing rapidly, and it behoved them to make all speed 
down. Their success at first acted like a stimulant to 
them ; they descended merrily, and fancied they would 
do the return journey both quickly and easily — a huge 
mistake, as was subsequently proved. 

With stiffened muscles they plodded along, however, 
almost in a state of numbness, if not of stupefaction. 
The roar of the stones which they began to loosen in their 
descent, at length awoke them from their half-conscious 
state. Then came the narrow band of snow on the top of 
the wall-like ridge, and this was safely crossed, dangerous 
as the crossing was in their present condition. A 
long spell on the mountain-slope followed. Here step- 
cutting had to be resorted to, though Benen had scarce 
strength left to swing his axe. The slopes were fear- 
fully steep ; they seemed of interminable length ; many 
of them ended in sheer precipices down which a fall 
would be fatal. "Take care not to slip," the leading 
guide admonished his companions, as indeed well he might. 
Oddly enough, Tyndall seems to have greatly under- 
estimated the danger of a slip, imagining that he would 
be able to recover himself before he shot over the fatal 
precipice below. But Benen's emphatic "No; it would 
be utterly impossible !" showed the Englishman how mis- 
taken his belief was. It is certain that had any man 

209 o 



DANGEROUS FEATS 

slipped in such a place it would have cost him his 
life. 

An extraordinary variety of difficulties and dangerous 
feats succeeded for the mountaineering party. At one 
time they had to drop cautiously from ledge to ledge 
crossing their path. At another spot Benen, hanging by 
his hands to the rocks, body in air, felt with his feet for 
some projection on which he might put his weight, and 
presently dropped with extreme caution on to a ledge so 
narrow that the slightest extra movement would have 
thrown him off, and so to the abysses below. A wet 
couloir followed; this they were obliged to abandon. 
Another and drier couloir was tried, but this, too, they 
found it advisable to get out of with all speed. They 
were only just in time, for down came clattering a deadly 
avalanche of stones along the very trough they had left. 

Wenger was now sent to lead, because of his long legs, 
which were likely to set the pace better. But the way 
became ever more difficult, and at length the party were 
brought up by what seemed an impossible precipice. It 
appeared to run like a huge wall all round the mountain, 
so far as could be seen. It was only after a long detour 
that a risky, but still a possible, descent was found. In 
no long time a second, and this time an overhanging, 
precipice stopped all farther progress. In vain did the 
men cast their eyes around for a way of escape; it seemed 
certain they would have to reascend some portion of the 
mountain-flank. But how in their exhausted and almost 
demoralized condition ? 

Whilst the mountaineers were standing here dis- 
heartened, if not despairing, they were witnesses of a very 

210 



GREAT FALL OF STONES 

extraordinary spectacle, which, Tyndall says, was one of 
the most remarkable things he had ever set eyes upon. 
He describes it in his own graphic way : 

" Whilst we stood pondering here, a deep and confused 
roar attracted our attention. From a point near the 
summit of the Weisshorn a rock had been discharged; 
it plunged down a dry couloir, raising a cloud of dust at 
each bump against the mountain. A hundred similar 
ones were immediately in motion, while the spaces between 
the larger masses were filled by an innumerable flight of 
smaller stones. Each of them shakes its quantum of dust 
in the air, until finally the avalanche is enveloped in a 
vast cloud. The clatter of this devil's cavalry was stun- 
ning. Black masses of rock emerged here and there from 
the cloud, and sped through the air like flying fiends. 
Their motion was not one of translation merely, but they 
whizzed and vibrated in their flight as if urged by wings. 
The clang of echoes resounded from side to side, from the 
Schallenberg to the Weisshorn and back, until finally the 
whole troop came to rest, after many a deep-sounding 
thud in the snow, at the bottom of the mountain." And 
the professor emphatically warns all future climbers of 
the Weisshorn to avoid that side of the mountain, except 
on one of the aretes. "At any moment," he declares, 
" the mountain-side may be raked by a fire as deadly as 
that of cannon." 

But the three men were still on the top of the fearsome 
precipice; the day was far spent; how to descend with 
their lives they knew not. Yet, after coasting along for a 
distance, they came on a spot where the sheer cliff bevels 
off into a steep slope. Down this dangerous incline runs 

211 2 



SAFE DOWN AT LAST 

a crack wide enough to admit a man's fingers. Mad as 
the plan seems to an ordinary person, the three begin to 
let themselves cautiously and slowly down, inserting the 
fingers in the crack and carefully lowering the body. 
The victory is won, and the three then hurry on over 
glacier, rock, incline, trusting they have done with 
precipices. 

But no; a third and still more formidable rock-wall 
appears. To Tyndall himself the place seems hopeless. 
Farther he and his men cannot get, that is certain. Then, 
to his extreme surprise, his guides lead the way confidently 
along the crest till they come to a clay ridge running 
from the top steeply down. The clay streak — for it is no 
more — presently comes to an end, and the rest of the 
descent has to be made as best may be. The guides do 
not hesitate ; the rocks are rough, and the scramble down 
is desperate. In an ordinary way such a course would 
have been pronounced stark madness, but men in sore 
straits do not stick at trifles. And, as a matter of fact, 
the guides had the day before seen a chamois mount at 
the very spot where they were descending. Where the 
chamois could get up, they argued, a man might get 
down. And so it proves. In due time the adventurous 
three stand safe at the bottom of the terrible cliff, ex- 
hausted but triumphant. The proud Weisshorn, one 
might almost say, had been twice conquered that day. 



212 



CHAPTER XVIII 

CROSSING THE ANDES IN WINTER 

The Andes second in size only to the Himalayas — Major Rickard, an 
Irish engineer — Starts to cross from Chili to Buenos Ayres — 
The western slopes of the Andes reached just as winter is coming 
on — A stiff pull up — The dog in leather shoes — Hundreds of 
condors — One shot — A big struggle with the wounded bird — 
A storm of snow and thunder — A terrific wind — Mule refuses to 
face it — A destructive blast — Mule takes fright and gallops off — 
Major alone on the ridge, and lost — Burrows in the snow to 
escape blast — Gives up all hope — Track again espied — Compan- 
ions come up — Colour-blindness a serious matter — Summit of 
Cumbre Pass, the worst part, reached — Storm rages with 
redoubled fury — " Dismount, dismount !" — Mule blown over 
the precipice — A bottle of port — Eight leagues yet to nearest 
hut — A puma by the Major's side — The hut, a miserable affair — 
The effect of a uniform — Wretched night — Negro insensible 
from the cold — Men bring in a still worse case — The engineer 
as doctor — A shot at a llama at a thousand yards — Two drunken 
horsemen and their threats — A rifle brought to the " present " — 
A hasty retreat — Threats to return — The dangerous laderos 
along the road — a drove of cattle and a very strait path — 
A narrow escape for the Major. 

No reader needs to be told that the vast Andes range 
is second only to the mighty Himalayas among the 
stupendous mountain chains on the surface of our globe. 
To the enormous height of twenty-five thousand feet do 
the loftiest of the Andine summits tower above sea-level. 

213 



MAJOR RICKARD 

In the matter of length, the line of the Andes entirely 
puts the Himalayas into the shade. The crossing of this 
great range is at all times a long, heavy work ; in bad 
weather it is attended with constant dangers, and some- 
times with risks that are appalling. This was the 
experience of Major Rickard, an Irish mining engineer, 
who more than forty years ago held an important position 
under the Argentine Government. He left Valparaiso, on 
the Pacific, to traverse the entire breadth of the continent, 
the journey necessitating, of course, the passage over the 
Andes. 

It was just at the beginning of winter — that is, about 
the end of April, when he reached the mountains, but 
he hoped to get over the range before the really bad 
weather set in. We shall see what his actual experience 
was. 

The hour of two on a dark morning saw Major Rickard 
and his companions on their way up the earlier slopes. 
He was warmly clad, as he needed to be. His dog, too, 
he had shod in leather shoes, as a protection against 
stones and snow. A stiff pull up, to a height of seven or 
eight thousand feet, brought them into wild and magni- 
ficent scenery, and also beyond the limit of vegetation. 
After a halt for their breakfast of cold meat and bread, 
and the coldest of cold water from a torrent, they entered 
upon a narrow road, not more than two feet wide, along 
the steep face of a cliff. Along this risky path they toiled 
without any mishap to the top of a ridge. The view on 
all sides was truly marvellous ; but the point to which the 
eyes of the travellers were particularly directed was the 
Cumbre Pass, the chief pass of that region, by which they 

214 



HUNDREDS OF CONDORS 

were to make the passage of the Andes ; it could be 
discerned, though the distance was still great. 

A sight nearer at hand also interested the Major ; some 
hundreds of condors were soaring above his head, waiting 
to come back to the carcass of a mule from which the 
arrival of the men had for the moment scared them. 
Running for his rifle, the engineer took aim at one of the 
largest, which had alighted on a ledge two hundred yards 
away. There was a loud, re-echoing bang, and then the 
whole flock of condors fled terror-stricken — all but one, 
which dropped almost at the sportsman's feet. The dog 
was not disposed to tackle so formidable a fellow, for the 
bird was violent to a degree. Rickard himself dared not 
approach his victim, and he was just about to solve the 
difficulty by putting a second bullet into the struggling 
condor, when one of his men deftly brought his lasso and 
hunting-knife to bear. From tip to tip of his wings the 
bird measured eight feet seven inches. 

There was now a sudden and most unwelcome change 
in the weather ; everything prognosticated a storm of the 
utmost violence, and the travellers thought it wise to get 
over the Cumbre Pass if possible. Snow began to fall, 
then it fell faster and faster ; a howling wind arose, while the 
air grew dark and resounded with the roll of heavy thunder- 
peals. The Major was somewhat ahead of his men, but he 
hurried on, his dog accompanying him. Soon he could 
scarcely see for ten yards in front of him, and he thought 
it best to trust to his mule, which was stumbling along 
knee-deep in snow. Upwards the animal climbed, foot by 
foot, the storm increasing in intensity each moment. 
Rickard did fairly well for some distance, sheltered by a 

215 



ALONE, AND LOST ! 

projecting rock ; but when he came to the end of the rock 
and the top of the minor ridge he was climbing, the wind 
in all its fury caught man and beast. For an instant the 
mule stood it, and then attempted to turn back. Down 
on her knees she fell in the endeavour, and the rider was 
compelled to dismount. 

He determined to await the arrival of the rest of his 
party ; but what a place to wait in, and alone ! Every- 
thing was covered thick with blinding and dazzling snow ; 
moreover, the mule turned round two or three times, and 
before many minutes were over, the man had not the 
slightest notion where the track was, or in which direction 
his route lay. He took out his pocket-compass, and laid 
it flat on his hand, to try to find his bearings. " I was 
looking most anxiously at the needle, when another 
terrific gust of wind, stronger than the first, and charged 
with sand and snow, came down upon me, carrying away 
my compass, my hat, and my poncho, tearing my overcoat 
right up the back, and leaving me in tatters. My mule 
took fright, also, and went off at full speed down the side 
of the mountain, regardless of road or track." 

The solitary traveller was obliged to throw himself down 
and burrow into the snow, in order to gain a shelter from 
the all-mastering hurricane which threatened to throw 
him over the precipice. The dog howled piteously, and 
crouched in the snow close to his master. Thus the pair 
remained till the storm somewhat abated. Then, to his 
great joy, the Major spied the track not more than ten 
yards away, and, crawling on hands and knees thither, he 
found better shelter behind a ledge of rock. At last he 
was able to proceed, but whither? There was but one 

216 



A CRITICAL POSITION 

answer to such a question : he must try at all cost to find 
his companions. Down, therefore, he plunged, deep in 
the snowdrifts at every step, and with difficulty making 
out the mule-track at all. He had the satisfaction to see 
them coming along at last, for he was lost, bewildered, and 
almost dead with the cold. His friends were delighted 
to meet with him again ; having quite given him up for 
lost. 

"I can assure the reader," writes Major Rickard, "that 
when I even now call to mind — and I can do so vividly — 
my critical position on that eventful day, alone, on the 
highest range of the Andes, twelve thousand feet above the 
sea, lost and hopeless, with the probability of never again 
seeing the face of man — for one whole night passed there 
would have been sufficient to accomplish such an end, and 
even during the short time I did spend there I was almost 
frozen to death — then the probability of tumbling head- 
long over a precipice into the yawning gulf beneath in 
trying to find my way, for the snow was so deep and the 
day so dark that I could not distinguish a safe from an 
unsafe path — I say, when I think of these things now, it 
almost makes me tremble." 

Another hat and another poncho it was easy enough to 
get out of his portmanteau, but the traveller had unfortu- 
nately lost also his blue goggles in the late blasts, and 
soon he began to find his eyes affected with snow-blindness. 
Later on the matter became serious ; he was unable to 
distinguish colours. He astonished his men by declaring 
that his black dog had turned green — with the intense cold, 
as he presumed. But when he found that the snow 
appeared yellow, and that scarlet assumed the hue of dirty 

217 



THE STORM RAGES 

purple, his guide advised him to ride as much as possible 
with closed eyes, or he would lose his sight altogether. As 
a matter of fact, the Major never did entirely recover from 
the effects of that winter journey over the mountains. 

In spite of all dangers and troubles, however, the little 
party at length neared the summit of the Cumbre, the 
severity of the storm having for a while abated a trifle. 
But just before the crest was reached the tempest swept 
down upon them with a force far beyond anything they 
had before experienced. The signal for the renewal of 
hostilities was a sudden and tremendous peal of thunder 
exactly over the heads of the travellers, the crash loud as if 
all the rocks around had been rent to pieces at one blow. 
" We were now approaching the summit, and the storm, 
like a giant refreshed by slumber, arose with redoubled 
fury and strength, and bore down upon us with all its 
might. ' Dismount ! dismount V shouted the arriero and 
his men simultaneously, and in a moment we were on the 
ground with our backs to the storm. . . . The arriero 
and men, being more exposed and higher up, were left with 
their clothes in ribands; but this was not the worst. 
One of the loaded mules was blown over the precipice, and 
went rolling down the rocky steep, until we lost sight of 
her in the profound abyss beneath. Some of my principal 
scientific instruments went with her, and were, of course, 
lost to me for ever." 

Not a moment did the party stop on the summit of the 
pass, "awfully grand though it was," but sought some 
sort of shelter where they might partake of a little 
refreshment. So, cowering behind a rock, they drank a 
bottle of good port wine, the reviving effects of which 

218 






A MISERABLE SHELTER 

were incalculable. The Major certainly was in need of 
something to bring back life to him. His nose and ears 
were utterly without feeling, and his arriero had to rub 
them briskly with snow to restore the circulation. They 
had still eight leagues to go before the first hut would be 
reached — eight leagues of that terrible pass, and in the 
midst of a winter storm ! It took them from noon till 
eight in the evening to cover the distance. The mules had 
to be allowed to stumble as they could down the rugged 
path, and the men struggled after them as best they 
might, up to their middles, in snow. On the way the 
engineer was startled by the sudden apparition of a puma, 
which darted close past him as he was walking at some 
distance from his companions. The incident was discon- 
certing, to say the least of it, to a solitary and defenceless 
man, for he was too benumbed to pull a trigger. 

At length, far ahead, was seen a fire ; it was by the hut, 
and when they arrived there, they found two men cowering 
under a rock, a fire burning beside them. As for the hut 
itself, it was about as miserable a shelter as could be 
imagined. The only way into it was by a sort of door 
or loophole high up in the framework. There was no 
ladder by which this might be reached, and the Major had 
to scramble up as he might. When he dropped down into 
the pitch-dark interior, he stumbled over a prostrate man. 
He struck a light and found that there were already four 
fellows tenanting this little shelter. Where the new- 
comers were to put themselves it was not easy to see. 
Moreover, there were plenty of vent-holes in the place, 
through every one of which the wind and the snow came 
driving furiously. The very limited floor-space, moreover, 

219 



EFFECT OF A UNIFORM 

was encumbered by a litter of baggage, clothes, saddles, 
and the like. 

But Major Rickard was not the man to be thrust on 
one side. He immediately removed the cover from his 
cap, and showed the gold band upon it. It was a uniform 
cap, and denoted his rank as a high Government official. 
The sight of this had the desired effect on the fellows 
occupying the floor, and it only needed an authoritative 
word from the great man to make them rearrange them- 
selves in a smaller space. The servants now brought in 
their master's bed and rigged it up in a corner, and made 
a small charcoal fire in the middle of the floor. Then, 
after a cup of hot tea, the engineer turned in, tortured 
by a nervous headache. How long he slept he did not 
know, but when he was awakened by an uneasy movement 
on the part of his dog, he sat up and gazed around in 
stupid amazement. 

" The candle was still burning in the opposite corner, 
and threw a dim, lurid glare over the interior of the 
hut. ... I was obliged to drop again immediately, being 
almost stifled and suffocated with the most intolerable 
stench I ever recollect having experienced; even the 
' seventeen distinct smells ' of Rio Janeiro in the Brazils 
were nothing in comparison. The atmosphere from about 
two feet from the floor upwards was a thick cloud of steam, 
ascending and curling, slowly finding an exit by the door- 
way. On the floor were piled a heap of human forms 
lying in every position, all apparently sound asleep, and 
ignorant of, or indifferent to, the pernicious atmosphere 
they were inhaling."" 

The Major was informed by his men, later on, that a 

220 



NEGRO INSENSIBLE FROM COLD 

fresh party of travellers had arrived during the night, and 
that no fewer than eighteen persons had slept within the 
narrow limits of that wretched hut ! 

The effect of the cold and exposure at such an elevation 
was serious indeed, so far as some of the travellers were 
concerned. A black servant of the Major's was found in 
the morning apparently stiff and lifeless. The negro was 
made to swallow some hot tea, after which he revived a 
little, but was unable even to move from his place, much 
less to continue the journey. A worse case presently 
engaged the attention of the rest. Four men arrived at 
the hut, carrying what seemed to be the dead body 
of a comrade. They said he had shown no signs of life 
whatever since they had discovered him crouched and 
insensible beneath a rock. The Major had the poor 
fellow placed on a mattress in the hut, and then applied 
stimulants and friction. Before he started on his own 
way again, about noon, the kindly Irishman had the 
pleasure of seeing the sufferer come round considerably. 

When the party got off, one of them, the negro, had to 
be wrapped in blankets and carried to his mule, where he 
sat almost without the power of keeping his seat. All 
day they trudged on, deep in snow, till at length they 
reached another hut, to gain which they had to cross a 
stream and clamber up a steep bank. Luckily this second 
hut was empty, and a good deal more cleanly, so that after 
some hot tea the men turned in for a far better night. 
In the morning preparations were made for an early start, 
when an incident diverted everybody's attention for the 
moment. Rickard was standing outside the hut, when 
with a whiz four huanacos, a species of llama, flew by. 

221 



A SHOT AT A LLAMA 

Instantly he sprang towards the door to fetch his rifle, but 
stumbled, and before he could recover himself and get 
hold of his gun, the animals were a long way off. The 
sportsman elevated the sight to six hundred yards, and 
fired. He wasted his ammunition, for the llamas were 
probably three or four hundred yards farther away than 
he had reckoned upon. Seeing them rest a moment on 
the top of a rock, however, he put up the sight for a 
thousand yards and once more took aim, though the 
animals were barely visible. Whether he hit one of them 
or not he could not be certain, but, looking through his 
field-glass, he saw one of them leap into the air and then 
all four fly off like the wind. 

They had an adventure of another sort at a later stage 
of the crossing, when the worst of the mountains had been 
passed. A loud shouting and hallooing was heard in the 
valley, and two gauchos on horseback galloped furiously 
up, and demanded wine, swearing terribly the while. The 
fellows were half-drunk already, and the Major replied 
that he had no wine. The rascals scouted the notion that 
a party of the kind could be crossing the Andes without 
taking stimulants of some sort. But the engineer was not 
the man to be trifled with. Seizing his rifle, he shouted to 
them that if they did not " clear out " immediately, he 
would put a bullet through at least one of their skulls. 
His own men were in alarm, saying that the gauchos were 
terrible fellows with the knife, and would think nothing 
of cutting his throat. " But was an Irishman," he writes, 
" with an Enfield rifle in his hand and a revolver in his 
belt, to be cowed by such ' spalpeens '? Not a bit of it ; 
so I reiterated the threat, accompanying it by bringing the 

222 



DANGERS OF THE "LADEROS" 

rifle to the ' present.' This had the desired effect, and the 
ruffians set off at full speed, yelling out most fearful oaths 
and threats to return with others and take vengeance upon 
us. They did not, however, carry out their threats, and we 
slept sound and unmolested till morning." 

The track, even when most of the snow had been left 
behind, was often of the most rugged and difficult kind ; 
in many places it was fearfully steep ; moreover, it was 
often barely wide enough to admit of a mule and its 
load passing along. Often the riders had to dismount, 
especially in traversing the bad and dangerous spots called 
laderos, where the road runs on the top of perpendicular 
precipices overhanging the River Colorado. At one of 
these critical points they met a large drove of cattle, 
which were being taken over the mountains into Chili. 
The engineer and his party had to return for a long 
distance before the cattle could pass. Now and then, too, 
the wind blew with great violence, and at times drove the 
sand in their faces with such force that they were unable 
to stand it, and had to wrap their heads in their mantles, 
and let the mules stumble along as they would or could. 
A long stretch of spiny thorn-scrub was to be traversed 
in one locality. Altogether, the road over the Andes 
was a hard road to travel, and the following incident was 
but one instance of the Major's many escapes : 

" At 4 a.m. we started, and commenced groping our way 
in the dark, still descending the dangerous and precipitous 
path. I recollect one part of this road, which, for the 
first time during the journey (except in the Cumbre), really 
startled me. It was still dark, and the route led us into 
a deep gorge, or more properly an immense fissure in the 

223 



A NARROW ESCAPE 

mountain, the rocks on either side rising perpendicularly 
to a considerable height. By the sound of my mule's feet 
I knew there was water beneath, which in some places was 
frozen, and consequently slippery. In passing through 
one of these spots my mule came down and I with her, 
straight over her head, and, had I not held on to the reins 
with all my might, I don't know where I might have 
' brought up,' as the place was a mass of ice, and inclined 
downwards at an angle of sixty degrees at least. I regained 
my feet with difficulty, and determined to descend the 
remainder of the pass on foot.'" 



224 



CHAPTER XIX 

IN KAFFIR LAND 

Mr. Baldwin, an English hunter — Hoisting a waggon up a stiff hill 
— Out of control on the downward slope — A leap into a thorn- 
tree — A bad spill — Foreloper injured — Mr. Baldwin as surgeon 
— A rhinoceros, and no rifle handy — A plucky youngster — 
Full tilt downhill — At bay — Almost impaled — Cold on the 
mountain heights — Three lions watch fire-making operations — 
Master's shots useless — Man comes to rescue — Lioness biting 
savagely at the twigs — A harrisbuck lost in the ravine— Twenty- 
two of the same breed next day — A foot fast in the stirrup — 
Elephant - hunting excessively hard work — Wounded bull 
elephant in chase — Thin boots and a steep slippery hill-side — 
Elephant in grim earnest — A critical moment — Beast careering 
helplessly downhill — A still closer shave — A race between 
elephant and horse — Bit and bridle thrown awry by a swerve — 
A brush past — Cannoning with trees — Breakneck chase down 
the slope — Just in time — A night visit by a lioness — Shots 
from the top of a hut — A leap through the air — Head over 
heels — Darkey knocked off waggon by the recoil of his gun — 
A cold and irritating vigil — Lion despatched by drivers — The 
Englishman arrested as a spy — Released, but robbed of most 
of his ammunition — A lion hunt — Five-and-twenty Masara men 
with assegais — All the warriors in full flight — Baldwin sticks 
to his game — An exciting time— Lion on three legs — Loud 
praises by the Masaras. 

The long and terrible Boer War, coupled with the pre- 
| ceding Zulu troubles, have made us acquainted with details 
| of South African geography of which many of us were 

225 p 



HUNTING IN SOUTH AFRICA 

previously very ignorant. Now, Vaal and Limpopo, 
Stormberg and Drachenfels, are names almost as familiar 
as that of the fatal height of Spion Kop. 

Among those far-off mountains, across those rivers, 
and athwart those long stretches of veldt and bush and 
karroo went many a sportsman forty or fifty years ago. 
Among them was one whose restless longings for excite- 
ment and discovery and sport led him into the lands of 
the Kaffir, the Zulu, the Boer, the Hottentot. Mr. Bald- 
win, in truth, was a hunter by nature, and many were the 
strange adventures he met with in South Africa, and many 
the difficulties he had to face in his wanderings on the 
mountains there. The guidance of his waggon team up 
the steep ascents and down the precipitous descents was no 
easy matter. 

One day, by dint of much trouble and some flogging, 
the lumbering vehicle had been hoisted to the top of a 
stiff incline. As it happened, the downward slope began 
at once, and the driver at the head of the team neglected 
to give the usual warning. Before Mr. Baldwin could 
realize what had happened, he found oxen and waggon 
tearing down the steep mountain-side at a terrific rate. 
That in the course of another moment or two there would 
come destruction he could see at a glance. To sit still 
meant serious injury, and possibly death; to jump off 
appeared only one degree less fatal. But he had no time 
to weigh the pros and cons in his mind. Seeing a rough 
thorn-tree close at hand, the hunter threw himself violently 
upon it, and alighted in the very thick of its foliage and ( 
spines ! He tumbled to earth with no damage to his j 
person, but with a shirt torn to ribbons. * 

226 



BALDWIN AS SURGEON 

" I had just got clear of my not too comfortable bed, 1 ' 
he goes on to tell, " when I heard the waggon come to a 
sudden halt. I ran forward, and beheld ten of the oxen 
round a tree, and one of the Kaffirs wringing his hands 
and dancing in a frantic manner, roaring out i Mammo 
mammi, mammi mammoT over the foreloper, who was on 
the ground, covered with blood and looking as wild as a 
hawk. What had happened to him I have never yet been 
able to understand. On closer examination I found that 
the poor fellow's skull was split on the left side, and it 
appeared as if the waggon had gone over his right arm. 
. . . The Kaffirs looked on in awe, but when they saw me 
take out needle, thread, thimble, etc., to sew up his head, 
they raised a fearful outcry, in which the wounded man 
joined. I was therefore obliged to desist from this opera- 
tion, and content myself with binding up his head as 
tightly as I could." He was forced to leave the injured 
driver behind, and proceed with the help of his one other 
man only, an awkward predicament to be in, seeing the 
number of cattle to be tended, and the nature of the 
ground over which they were making their way to the 
Umgowie Mountains. 

On a later occasion, while the hunter was ascending a 
hill he suddenly found himself facing an old rhinoceros 
cow which was coming down. Baldwin called frantically 
to the boy behind, who was carrying his rifle. The 
youngster did not like the situation, and hesitated for a 
moment whether to obey the order or to take to his heels, 
leaving the master to his fate. The boy had pluck in 
him, however, and, approaching, threw the gun - case 
towards him, and then darted up a tree with all the 

227 p 2 



A PERILOUS ENCOUNTER 

quickness of a squirrel. The sportsman kept one eye on 
the rhinoceros while he saw to the opening of the gun- 
case with the other. Just as the brute was charging him 
full tilt, he lodged a bullet in its breast, with the effect of 
turning the animal's course, and it disappeared among the 
scrub. The hunter climbed to the top of the hill, and 
had just reached the ridge when he found himself in the 
presence of two rhinoceroses. He shot at one, and evidently 
wounded it, but both animals made off. The dogs, how- 
ever, managed to turn one of them, and, without more 
ado, it came charging down upon Baldwin at top speed. 
It was touch and go : another second, and the man would 
have been impaled on the horn of the furious rhinoceros. 
Baldwin's steadiness of aim was of the utmost value to 
him here. Keeping a cool head, he dropped the beast 
just in the nick of time. The second rhinoceros was found 
at no great distance, and on examination proved to be the 
one Baldwin had shot lower down the hill. 

The Englishman presently found himself traversing a 
country of mountains, on the higher elevations of which 
the cold was very trying, although the heavy work of 
cutting the way through the dense bush was warm enough. 
He was on ahead of his party, and managed to light a 
fire, using for his purpose a cap, a couple of stones, a bit 
of rag, and some gunpowder. While these operations 
were proceeding three lions came and looked on. This 
was too much for a man of keen sporting instincts, and at 
once he set off, followed by Swartz, the only servant he 
had with him at the time. Singling out one of the 
animals, a lioness, they managed to detach her from the 
rest, and went after her in hot chase. A long shot missed 

228 



PURSUING HARRISBUCKS 

her, and the lioness came to a halt suddenly, and stood at 
bay among the scrub, five-and-twenty yards away. A 
second shot was of no avail : the sportsman's arms were 
tired with their recent heavy labour, and he was unable to 
take a steady aim. It was well for him that he had with 
him his man Swartz, who lost no time in using his own 
gun. The lioness sprang high into the air, and began 
biting savagely at the twigs and branches, a sign she had 
been hit. All this gave the master time to reload, and 
without hesitation he walked close up to the raging beast 
and put her out of her misery. 

The two men found themselves on the top of a very 
precipitous mountain flank, and as they were making their 
way with difficulty down it they set up a harrisbuck. 
They would have eagerly given chase had it been possible, 
but the buck shot down into the depths of the ravine with 
astonishing rapidity, and disappeared from view. When 
the hunters, with more deliberate and uncertain feet, had 
gained the foot of the steep slope and the bottom of the 
bush-covered valley, the animal was nowhere to be seen. 

They had a similar disappointment another day when 
they came across a whole herd of the same breed. Mr. 
Baldwin counted twenty-two feeding together in a long, 
narrow, steep-sided valley, and the animals, on being dis- 
turbed, with one consent set off thundering down the 
pass. The hunter was mounted, and went in pursuit. 
With his usual adroitness he succeeded in detaching one 
fine old bull from the rest, and, by a bit of manoeuvring, 
got within gunshot. At the very moment when he should 
have fired, his boot became fast in the stirrup, pulling him 
a little to one side. The shot missed its mark, and the 

229 



A CRITICAL MOMENT 

buck darted off again. The rider was obliged to stop to 
extricate his boot, and thus lost a moment or two. The 
next minute the horse all but jumped into a nest full of 
ostrich eggs, and for a second time Baldwin missed his 
chance of securing a harrisbuck. But he shot many a one 
before he had done. 

Of all the arduous exertion involved in this hunting 
among the hills and veldts, and across the rivers and 
karroos, Mr. Baldwin gives it as his opinion that 
elephant-stalking is the hardest work to which any man 
could put himself. That it was also dangerous work does 
not need explaining. Some of his adventures led him into 
the most imminent peril. He was hunting on foot on one 
occasion in the Entumi Bush, and had wounded a huge 
bull-elephant. The animal gave instant and hot chase. 
The hunter made straight up the steep hill, in the hope 
that he would be able to climb more rapidly than the 
unwieldy bull. But he had on only some very thin veldt 
boots, without soles, and his progress he found to be very 
slow indeed. In truth, he slipped back two-thirds of every 
upward stride he took, and stumbled frightfully, often 
falling to the ground. The elephant kept on his way 
in grim earnest, and the situation was fast becoming 
desperate for the hunter, now himself being so keenly 
hunted. " Seeing no disposition on my pursuer's part to 
give up the chase, I changed my tactics, got above a tree, 
on which I leaned a couple of seconds, to recover my wind 
partly — a very critical moment, as the brute was not more 
than four of his own lengths from me — jumped then some 
ten yards at right angles, and turned down the hill at 
full speed, the monster screaming and trumpeting in full 

230 



A VERY CLOSE SHAVE 

career after me at a tremendous pace. He must have 
been over me in a few strides more, when I sprang to the 
right, and down he went in his mad career, crashing and 
carrying all before him, utterly unable to stop if he wished, 
as the hill was very steep, and he was under full sail — a 
tremendous relief to my mind, as it was my last resort." 
Mr. Baldwin was quite content to let the elephant continue 
his downhill course, without attempting to follow him up. 
The hunter resolved that for the future he would always 
take care to have a good horse at hand, if it were in any 
way possible. 

He had a still closer shave with another elephant, 
which came suddenly charging down upon him at great 
speed. It was again on a steep mountain-side, but this 
time he was mounted. His horse, however, happened to 
be a new one, and he knew not how the beast was likely 
to behave. To his horror the steed stood stock still, and 
there was only just time to fire somewhat wildly. The 
bullet would seem to have whistled rather too close to the 
horse's ear, for the animal swerved violently, almost 
unseating the rider, throwing both reins on one side of 
his head, and jerking the bit out of his mouth. Instantly 
the hunter was rendered helpless, and all he could do was 
to stick his spurs desperately into the sides of his horse. 
Oddly enough, the steed made straight for the charging 
and trumpeting bull, and Baldwin thought all was up 
with him. Horse and elephant brushed close past each 
other as they met, and the rider had to throw himself 
entirely on the off-side of his beast to avoid being crushed 
between the two. Another second and the immediate 
danger was passed, the elephant being now behind. But 

231 



JUST IN TIME 

at that moment the horse came in contact with three 
trees, one of which all but dragged off the rider, hurting 
his shoulder considerably. It was a fortunate thing for 
him that he managed to keep his grip of his gun, though 
how he retained it is a marvel, seeing that he held it only 
by the trigger-guard, and with one finger. 

Along the hill flank the horse now tore, jumping 
bushes like a buck, crashing through the thick under- 
wood, and in his haste over the broken and cumbered 
ground almost falling on his nose times out of count. 
For a little while the elephant kept on in pursuit, 
but, finding himself distanced, turned at last a different 
way. Now was Baldwin's time. He quickly put his 
bridle to rights, and then went in chase of his late 
pursuer. After the brute downhill the hunter flew like 
the wind, disregarding the dangers of more than one kind 
that beset his path. Ten long shots were fired at the 
retreating animal before he was brought to a stand. The 
hunter was so exhausted that he was scarce able to move 
a hand, and it was only with enormous difficulty he could 
finish off the struggling elephant, to do which three more 
shots were required. The man sank to the ground 
almost in a swoon. He could not have put another cap 
on the nipple, he tells us. 

Many of Baldwin's adventures with lions were not a 
little exciting — some of them too much so, indeed. One 
dark night he and his men in camp were awakened by the 
bellowings of an ox, mingled with the roarings of lions. 
Baldwin sprang up, seized the heavy double-barrelled gun 
lying between his legs, and dashed outside. He found 
one of his black fellows on the roof of a rough hut they 

232 




A Dangerous Race 

Baldwin had fired at the elephant, but unfortunately he missed as his horse swerved, 
jerking the bit out of its mouth. He was now helpless, but dug his spurs into his horse, 
which made for the elephant. They almost collided, and after a most exciting race the 
horse outdistanced its pursuer. 



ADVENTURES WITH LIONS 

had made. Jumping up beside his man, he fired at a 
dark-looking object that could be dimly seen a few yards 
away. Two or three shots he sent in that direction, but 
no effect appeared to have been produced. Suddenly the 
lion sprang full at him, its head striking him in the chest 
with such violence that he flew head over heels from the 
top of the hut down into the bush. Picking himself up 
in all haste, Baldwin scrambled through the fence, and 
sprang up on to the waggon, the black following with no 
less celerity. There on the top of the vehicle stood the 
little band of men, unable to do anything. The lion had 
it all its own way now, and the hunters in the darkness 
could only listen helplessly while the brute seized a goat 
and began to make its supper. One of the men presently 
made a demonstration, but with results that were hardly 
encouraging. He was standing with some difficulty on 
the top of the waggon when he drew trigger against the 
lion, and the recoil sent him spinning to the ground. As 
luck would have it, he alighted head foremost on the top 
of the very hut from which he had so lately sprung. 
This, happily for him, broke his fall ; but the master 
found it a ridiculous sight altogether, especially when the 
black fellow hurriedly clambered up into the vehicle 
again. To the chagrin of the little party — there were 
five blacks besides the master — they were compelled to 
stay out the rest of the cold night on the waggon, with 
hardly any clothes to cover them. It was not till day- 
light began to appear that the beast sheered off, and left 
the men at liberty to come down from their uncomfort- 
able fastness. Baldwin went at once into his tent to 
have his interrupted sleep out, but a couple of the drivers 

233 



A LION HUNT 

were not disposed to let the enemy off so easily. They 
gave chase, and in no long time brought down the 
aggressor. It proved to be a lioness. Proudly the men 
reported their success, but they were not altogether so 
pleased when an examination of the dead body brought 
to light the bullet from the master's big double-barrelled 
gun. 

Crossing the Vaal from the Orange Free State into the 
Transvaal Republic, Baldwin was taken prisoner as a spy, 
was charged with selling powder to the Kaffirs, and was 
threatened with hanging. The greater part of his stock 
of ammunition was taken from him, but in the end he 
was allowed to go on his way. He was, of course, soon in 
the thick of the hunting again, encountering every sort of 
game or dangerous animal South Africa possessed. His 
final adventure among the lions nearly cost him his life. 
It was towards the close of a tiring day, when he had 
been engaged for many hours in cutting through the 
thick bush that covered every part of the hill-sides. But 
he sprang on his horse — also pretty much exhausted — as 
soon as he heard the roar of a lion close at hand. He 
had with him five-and-twenty Masara men, all armed 
with assegais. As he galloped off Baldwin spied a 
bleached skull lying on the ground, and for the life of 
him he could not help regarding it as a bad omen, and 
fancied that his own skull was destined before long to lie 
in similar fashion. But, throwing off the melancholy 
that attacked him, he took a shot at the lion from a 
distance of sixty or seventy yards. He could see the 
animal drop suddenly to earth as he fired, and naturally 
supposed the bullet had reached its mark. Remounting 

234 



AN EXCITING FINISH 

his horse, Baldwin rode up nearer, when, with a frightful 
roar, the creature sprang up, and in a trice was upon him. 
The rider had only just time to spur his horse violently 
on one side, causing it to swerve instantly, before the 
body of the savage brute was bounding through the air. 
The lion brushed past, in truth, so closely that his flank 
all but knocked the man off his beast altogether. It was 
only by clinging for dear life to the stirrup-strap that he 
kept his seat. 

The horse, carried on ahead by his speed and the steep 
slope on which he was, careered along at a rapid rate, and 
it was not till after some seconds that the rider could pull 
him up. Meanwhile the five-and-twenty Masara men 
were all speeding away as fast as their legs could carry 
them, leaving the Englishman to shift for himself as best 
he might. Nothing daunted, Baldwin followed hard 
after the lion, and with a good shot at a hundred and 
fifty yards broke one of his hind-legs. The beast kept on 
his way, nevertheless, running on three legs. But the 
horse gradually caught up with the wounded animal, and 
the rider was able to get in a second shot. This broke 
the spine, and with a third bullet the hunter gave its 
quietus to the brute that had so nearly finished him. 
The Masara fellows now came running back, and began 
loudly to shout the praises of the master. One of the 
blacks, a born orator evidently, began a most graphic 
description of the whole incident, though not a word of 
the speech was understood by the subject of it. 

" I wish my powers of description,'" writes Mr. Baldwin, 
pardonably enough, " equalled those of a Masara. I think 
I never enjoyed a greater treat than to hear one of them 

235 



A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION 

describe this adventure. I did not understand a word he 
said, but his gestures and attitudes were splendid ; his eyes 
flashed fire, he broke out into a streaming perspiration, 
and mimicked the lion so perfectly as to make me feel 
quite cold. It would be impossible to surpass his imitation 
of the horse galloping, with myself spurring him, and all 
the other incidents of the chase. I had the satisfaction of 
seeing that I held the very first place in his estimation." 



236 



CHAPTER XX 

A TRAGEDY ON THE MATTERHOItN 

The Matterhorn long the terror of mountaineers — Many early 
attacks — A distinguished band — Mr. Whymper and Lord 
Francis Douglas — Joined by two other Englishmen — First 
night's camp at an elevation of eleven thousand feet — An early 
start on the morrow — The peak in full view — Exciting race for 
the top — A dead heat — An Italian party on the mountain 
beaten — A flag improvised — The descent begun — The order in 
which the men were roped — The utmost care taken — Mr. Hadow 
slips — The leading guide knocked off his feet — The rope parts 
— Four men slide away, three left clinging to the rocks — Over 
the precipice — A terrible drop of four thousand feet — The sur- 
vivors paralyzed— A move made at last — An appalling appari- 
tion against the sky — "A fearful and wonderful sight " — The 
night passed on a bare and tiny rock- shelf — Back at Zermatt — 
Consternation and grief there — A search party perceive the 
bodies away down on the glacier — An unsuccessful Sunday 
search — Ultimate recovery of three of the bodies — A victory, 
but a terrible one ! 

None of the other great mountain-peaks of Europe had, 
till quite recently, so sinister a reputation as Mont Cervin, 
or, as it is more usually called in this country, the Matter- 
horn. From time immemorial men had gazed on its 
mighty towering precipices with awe and with terror. 
From many points of view its huge rock-walls appeared to 
be frightfully precipitous, wellnigh perpendicular. The 
mountain, it could be seen, was often swept by terrible 

237 



THE MATTERHOKNT 

storms ; the avalanches of snow, ice, or stones were on the 
most awful scale. To the simple peasants of the country 
around, the summit of the Matterhorn was the abode of 
evil spirits of the most malignant kind, howling demons 
not to be faced willingly by anything human. That such 
a monster as this could be conquered by mortals had 
never entered the mind of man. Thus things continued 
till a generation or so ago. 

Then came the Alpine Club, and a host of climbers 
from various lands. Peak after peak was assailed and 
vanquished, even of those that had aforetime been deemed 
utterly and for ever inaccessible. Yet there remained the 
Matterhorn, unconquered and, in the belief of most men, 
even the hardiest of the professional guides, unconquerable. 
But bolder spirits arose and asked themselves whether the 
proud Alpine monster, too, might not be trodden under 
foot by man. Tentative attacks began to be made upon 
him from all points and by climbers of all nationalities — 
Switzers, French, British, Italians. So many were these 
earlier attempts to scale the Matterhorn, indeed, that a 
full account of them would fill volumes, and, in fact, there 
has sprung up a whole literature, as it were, on the subject 
of the Matterhorn ascents. We need only mention two 
or three of our own countrymen, whose names are honour- 
ably and conspicuously connected with those bold, if non- 
victorious, conflicts with the giant mountain. Occupying 
a front place in the band is the distinguished scientist 
Professor Tyndall, and not less famous as climbers were 
Messrs. Kennedy, Hawkins, Hudson, and Whymper. 

In the summer of 1865 Mr. Whymper, who had been 
very active for some time in the operations against the 

238 



., 




Stereo copyright Underwood &• JJ. London &■ Xe7u York 

Arrival on the first peak of the summit of Mont Blanc 



A DISTINGUISHED BAND 

Matterhorn, determined on yet another attempt. By this 
time what may be called the race for the summit of this 
dangerous but strangely fascinating peak had become very 
keen. Professor Tyndall was a very doughty rival, and 
certain Italian climbers were equally bent on gaining the 
honours that awaited those who should win in the contest. 
At Zermatt Whymper fell in with Lord Francis Douglas, 
who was himself desirous of trying the mountain. Hardly 
had these two gentlemen agreed to go together, when in 
walked another notable English climber — Mr. Hudson, a 
clergyman — and with him a friend, Mr. Hadow. As these 
latter were also about to attempt an ascent, the two parties 
agreed to join their forces. A start was made next morn- 
ing in fine weather. The leading guide chosen was Michael 
Croz, a first-rate man, and with him were two Taugwalders, 
father and son. 

Passing over the earlier stages of their climb, we find 
them at midday at an elevation of some eleven thousand 
feet, and at the base of the huge pillar of the peak itself. 
Here the tent was pitched, the party intending to do no 
more work that day. Nevertheless, Croz and the younger 
of the Taugwalders went on a little, to see what was likely 
to come next day. They were absent some hours, but at 
length returned in high glee, to report that there was, 
marvellous to relate, little or no difficulty before them. A 
merry evening was spent on their lofty perch ; everybody 
was confident, and, consequently, in the best of spirits. 

Almost before it was daylight on the morrow the party 
were ready for the start again. Soon, turning a corner, 
they could see, towering far above them, the whole of the 
vast slope to the top, a height of three thousand feet. At 

239 



A RACE FOR THE SUMMIT 

first the going was comparatively easy, but in places step- 
cutting had to be resorted to, and great caution was neces- 
sary. On the men sped, till at length, doubling a nasty 
corner, they saw before them their actual goal. The rocks 
from that point were covered with snow, and the ascent 
was safe and easy. 

A feverish excitement now seized on the mountaineers. 
The race for the top grew breathless. The truth was that 
another band of climbers — Italians — was on the mountains, 
having started from Breuil. What if these fellows should 
have gained the day, wresting the laurels of victory from 
the intrepid Englishmen ! Such a thought was not to be 
endured. Says Mr. Whymper : " We were tormented 
with anxiety lest they should arrive at the top before us. 
All the way up we talked of them, and many false alarms 
of ' Men on the summit V had been raised. The higher we 
rose, the more intense became the excitement. What if 
we should be beaten at the last moment ?" 

Mr. Whymper and the guide Croz dashed away from 
their companions, and reached the highest point exactly 
together. The race thus ended in a dead heat. The 
Matterhorn giant had been vanquished ; his head was 
beneath the feet of his conquerors. No wonder the air 
rang with frantic shouts of delight and triumph. 

But what of the Italians ? Was it possible they also 
had reached the summit and had descended again? A 
hasty search over the whole of the limited area revealed to 
Mr. Whymper and his friends the fact that the snow was 
still untrodden. The victory to the Englishmen and their 
guides was complete. Peeping over the colossal cliff they 
could just see the Italians like specks many hundreds 

240 



THE ITALIAN PARTY BEATEN 

of feet below. Hurrah! The victors shouted with all 
their might down to their honourable but less fortunate 
rivals. Failing, as it seemed, to make them hear, they 
began to lever off loose stones from the edge. Such a 
shower bumping madly down effectually attracted the 
attention of the Italians, who, probably sick at heart, 
turned and fled. 

It is worth recording, as an illustration of Mr. Whymper's 
magnanimity of heart, that one of his uppermost feelings 
in the hour of his triumph was a regret that Carrel could 
not stand by him at that moment. Carrel was the leading 
guide to the Italian party, and the ambition of his life had 
been to be the first to scale the Matterhorn, and from his 
own valley. Now he had the mortification of seeing dashed 
to pieces the hope of a whole lifetime. 

We need not dwell on the prospect from the top of the 
Matterhorn. The day, fortunately, was splendidly clear, 
and the views all around were marvellous. Mountains a 
full hundred miles distant, or even more, seemed almost 
close at hand ; peerless among them rose the king of 
mountains, Mont Blanc. The guides had insisted on 
carrying up one of the tent-poles, so confident had they 
been of success ; this, bearing Croz's blouse, was fixed on 
the topmost point, and though it was but a small object, 
it was seen from below. Oddly enough, the folks at 
Breuil took it to mean that it was their party who had 
proved victorious, and great was the rejoicing — till next 
day, when the truth came out. 

It was high time for the seven good men to think of 
dropping down again to lower elevations. They were 
elated, naturally, and full of confidence. Yet they were 

241 Q 



THE DESCENT BEGUN 

well aware that the descent required extreme caution. In 
places the risk would be very great. Accordingly, some 
care was taken as to the order in which they should be 
roped. It is necessary, in view of the terrible sequel, to 
note what that order was. Croz led the descent, as it was 
fitting he should. Hadow came next, and after him 
Hudson, himself almost equal to any guide. Lord Francis 
Douglas followed ; then, in succession, old Peter Taug- 
walder, Mr. Whymper, and young Peter. Mr. Whymper 
made the suggestion that a cord should be fastened to the 
rocks at the worst part of the descent, to serve as an extra 
protection, but somehow it was not acted upon. 

The greatest care possible was taken in the more difficult 
spots. Only one man moved at a time, the rest holding 
the rope taut meanwhile. Croz now and then turned 
round to help Mr. Hadow, who was the least experienced 
of the party, the guide assisting him to plant his feet 
firmly in the steps, laying aside for the moment his own 
axe in order thus to be of service. It was precisely at one 
of those moments that the fatal slip occurred, resulting in 
so terrible a catastrophe that it is even yet not to be thought 
of without a shudder. Probably no one clearly saw what 
did exactly happen. But we shall not go far wrong, 
perhaps, if we accept Mr. Whymper's own account : 

" Croz was in the act of turning round to go down a step 
or two himself ; at this moment Mr. Hadow slipped, fell 
against him, and knocked him over. I heard one startled 
exclamation from Croz, then saw him and Mr. Hadow 
flying downwards; in another moment Hudson was dragged 
from his steps, and Lord Francis Douglas immediately 
after him. All this was the work of a moment. Imme- 

242 




A Tragedy of the Matterhorn 

" Hadow slipped, knocked against the guide Croz, and they both fell over. In 
another moment Hudson was dragged from his steps, then Lord Francis. The rope 
broke between Lord Francis and Taugwalder. So perished our comrades." 






i 






! 



A TERRIBLE DROP 

diately we heard Croz's exclamation, old Peter and I 
planted ourselves as firmly as the rocks would permit ; the 
rope was taut between us, and the jerk came on us both as 
one man. We held ; but the rope broke midway between 
Taugwalder and Lord Francis Douglas. For a few 
seconds we saw our unfortunate companions sliding down- 
wards on their backs, and spreading out their hands, 
endeavouring to save themselves. They passed from our 
sight uninjured, disappeared one by one, and fell from 
precipice to precipice on to the Matterhorngletscher 
below, a distance of nearly four thousand feet in height. 
From the moment the rope broke it was impossible to help 
them. So perished our comrades P 

Who can picture the position and think the thoughts of 
the three horror-stricken survivors ? Not a single step did 
they move for a full half-hour. The guides were absolutely 
paralysed, and though Mr. Whymper himself seems to 
have kept more free from panic, yet the condition of his 
trembling comrades was such that he, too, began to fear for 
his life. So demoralized were the Taugwalders, father and 
son, indeed, that anything might have happened to the 
trio. It must be remembered that all the while the 
Englishman was tied between the two, and could get 
neither up nor down. For a time young Peter would not 
attempt to move an inch ; he did nothing but sob, " We 
are lost! we are lost!" At last the old man recovered 
himself a little and moved from his seat, whereupon the 
son also came down, and the three scrambled together 
into a safer place. 

And now Mr. Whymper began to examine the rope 
where it had parted. To his horror he found that it was 

243 Q 2 



THE SURVIVORS PARALYSED 

the weakest of the three ropes they had with them, and 
should never have been used at all. It had, in fact, been 
brought only in case an emergency might arise. On whom 
the blame rests for using that defective rope has never to 
this day been satisfactorily cleared up. Whatever be the 
truth, the result was terrible indeed. Often has the 
Matterhorn been climbed since that day, but it will be 
long before the memory of that first ascent passes from the 
minds of the dwellers in those Alpine regions. 

The three men surviving had still to get themselves 
down in safety, if that were possible, and for long it 
seemed doubtful whether in the end there would be left a 
single survivor of the seven to tell the tale. But fortu- 
nately we have Mr. Whymper , s own account, in all its 
directness and clearness : 

" For more than two hours afterwards I thought almost i 
every moment that the next would be my last ; for the j c ! 
Taugwalders, utterly unnerved, were not only incapable of 
giving assistance, but were in such a state that a slip 
might have been expected from them at any moment. ... 
The men were sometimes afraid to proceed, and several 
times old Peter turned with ashy face and faltering limbs, 
and said with terrible emphasis, 6 I cannot P " 

To ensure safety as far as it was possible, Mr. Whymper 
fastened ropes to the rocks in the worst places, cutting | 
them as they descended. The ends, still tied to the rocks, 
remained for some years, and the Englishman himself saw 
one of them in 1873, or eight years after the disaster. 

A most extraordinary part of the story yet remains to 
be told. By six in the evening the three men had reached 
a part of the mountain where no farther danger was to be 

244 



AN APPALLING APPARITION 

apprehended. They had, of course, tried again and again 
to get a glimpse of their unfortunate companions, but 
without success. Weary, distraught, utterly cast down, 
silent, they prepared to finish the last and safe part of the 
descent — " When lo ! a mighty arch appeared, rising above 
the Lyskamm, high into the air! Pale, colourless, and 
noiseless, but perfectly sharp and defined, except where it 
was lost in the clouds, this unearthly apparition seemed 
like a vision from another world; and, almost appalled, 
we watched with amazement the gradual development of 
two vast crosses, one on either side. If the Taugwalders 
had not been the first to perceive it, I should have doubted 
my senses. 1 ' 

The guides at once believed that this strange apparition 
was something unearthly, and that it had a close con- 
nection with the accident. Under the circumstances many 
another person, however little inclined to be superstitious, 
would have been disposed to do the same. Mr. Whymper 
stopped short of that, yet he too was puzzled, if not exactly 
alarmed. He began to think that possibly the crosses 
might have some relation to their own bodies, but he soon 
perceived that the figures were unaffected by a change of 
position on the part of the men. "The spectral forms 
remained motionless. It was a fearful and wonderful 
sight ; unique in my experience and impressive beyond 
description, coming at such a moment." 

Darkness came on, the three still far from the foot of 
the mountain and from their hotel. They found a tiny 
slab sticking out of the rocks, and on this as sole resting- 
place they passed the* night, saying scarce a word to each 
other. At early dawn they went on, and at length reached 

245 



THREE BODIES RECOVERED 

the hotel at Zermatt, Mr. Whymper greeting Mr. Seiler, 
the host, with the words, " The Taugwalders and I have 
returned.'" No more, but it was enough, and the poor 
man burst into tears. A search-party at once set out, and 
that same evening perceived the bodies of some of the 
dead on the snow. It was impossible to recover them that 
night, however, and the efforts had to cease till daylight. 
On the Sunday morning, as it was found that none of the 
Roman Catholic guides would set out on the search till 
after they had been to early Mass, no time was lost in 
getting together a party of searchers, several Englishmen 
volunteering, as well as one or two of the other guides. 
Their efforts to recover the bodies were not successful, and 
it was plain that a larger and better-equipped force would 
be needed for the purpose. The matter threatened to 
become a public scandal, owing to the supineness of the 
authorities. Then the commune took action at last, and 
three of the bodies were brought down from the mountain 
and buried. They were found without their boots, strange 
to say. The body of Lord Francis Douglas was not with 
the rest, and could not be found. It is probable that it had 
been caught by some projecting ledge of the precipice, and 
there remained. 

The Matterhorn had indeed been conquered, but at 
what a cost ! 

[From "The Ascent of the Matterhorn/^ by E. Whymper. 
John Murray. By kind permission from Mr. E. Whymper and 
Mr. J. Murray.] 



246 



CHAPTER XXI 

SOLDIERING AND SPORT IN THE ROCKIES 

Sport in the Rockies forty years ago — Captain Trench Townshend 
reaches the mountains — Hospitably entertained by American 
officers — A cold place — Adventure with a buffalo — Lynch law 
and its work at Laramie — A march of thirty-five miles farther 
into the mountains — Game very shy — Another trek — A rough 
country for travelling in — Corduroy roads — Pulling up — 
Tracks of wild beasts in plenty — Camping at lofty alti- 
tudes — A good look-out for Redskin war-parties necessary — 
Narrow escape of two soldiers from the knives of the Indians 
— Grand scenery — An antelope-trap — Five animals killed — An 
odd character met with — A big and wasteful slaughter of deer 
— Resentment of Indians — A notable hunting day — A herd of 
more than one hundred and sixty elk — A detour to windward — 
Crawling on all fours — Too late — A chase — Rest — Magnificent 
elk spied — A good shot — Night coming on — Camp twenty-five 
miles away — A late start for home — Difficulties by the way — 
Bad falls — Man and horse in a salt swamp — Darkness comes on 
— The brink of a precipice — A stop just in time — Grass fired to 
light up passage over mountain torrent — Hours of hard and 
risky travelling — Camp-fires seen in the distance — Safe home ! 
— Lucky escape — Seven rancheros scalped. 

Forty years ago the big-game hunter in the Rockies was 
not able to pursue his sport with the ease and comparative 
safety he now enjoys. The journey to the spot was not so 
comfortably made then, the Union Pacific Railway being 
at that time not completed. To make matters worse, the 

247 



CAPTAIN TRENCH TOWNSHEND 

United States were at war with the Indians; "and the 
possibility of falling in with a hostile tribe of Sioux or 
Arapahoes was a prospect which even a strong and well- 
armed party of hunters could not contemplate without 
considerable uneasiness. " 

It was just at this time that an English officer, Captain 
Trench Townshend, of the 2nd Life Guards, having 
obtained leave of absence from his military duties, crossed 
the Atlantic to try his rifle amongst the buffaloes and 
other game in the Far West. Luckily for him, he carried 
letters of introduction to certain American officers who 
were then with their regiments on duty amidst the haunts 
of the hostile Indian tribes. Through the hospitality 
shown him by his brothers of the American army. Captain 
Townshend was enabled not only to enjoy his sport among 
the mountains in much greater security, but was also given 
excellent opportunities of seeing camp-life in those remote 
military stations. 

He found it hard at first to realize that he was actually 
passing over a part of the vast Rocky Mountain system, so 
gradual was the ascent from the east, and so imperceptible 
to the eye. Yet when he had arrived at Fort Saunders he 
was seven thousand three hundred feet above sea-level, and 
far above the vast rolling prairies he had crossed in mid- 
continent. On the way, however, he had seen herds of 
antelopes scampering away, and wolves feeding on the 
putrid carcasses of buffaloes lying in the ravines. He was 
therefore delighted when the General commanding at the 
fort promised him sport in the best part of the Rockies 
before long. For a time this proved to be impossible, bad 
weather coming on. It was late in the autumn, and the 

248 



ADVENTURE WITH A BUFFALO 

elevation was great, so it was not to be wondered at, 
when the thermometer indicated fifteen degrees of frost, 
and a great storm of wind and snow fell upon the moun- 
tains all around. The comfort of a hut and a good fire 
was undeniable. 

The Englishman had had a little experience of buffalo- 
stalking already, before the rough weather on the mountains 
set in. He had been with a small party of hunters when 
eight buffaloes were descried on a hill a couple of miles off. 
Each man made for the animal nearest him, galloping 
helter-skelter across the intervening hollow, Townshend's 
intended victim leading him over the roughest ground he 
could pick out, apparently. For three miles the chase 
went on, before the hunter could get a chance of a shot, 
and when he did, the buffalo was only wounded in the 
hind quarters. The animal sped on, but the horseman 
now gained upon him, and presently, in a ravine, they 
came abreast, the buffalo on the higher ground. Townshend 
was about to give him a finishing shot, when, in a moment, 
the animal stopped, lowered his head, and charged furiously. 
So unexpected was this attack, that the Captain had 
hardly time to dig his spurs into his horse and fire, before 
the shock came. The horse in his fright had stood stock 
still. "In a moment the bull was on us, catching me 
with his head and horns just under the knee-joint of the 
left leg, and tossing me on to the ground several yards off. 
He then passed clean under my horse's hind quarters, 
hoisting them up with his back as he passed, but not 
injuring the terrified animal, which he pursued for a few 
yards, fortunately not noticing me as I lay upon the 
ground.'" Fortunately, also, help was at hand, and the 

249 



LYNCH LAW 

injured officer was carried off the field, the buffalo escap- 
ing. Such was the Captain's introduction to sport in the 
West. 

The visitor saw something of the lawlessness of the 
district, and of the methods adopted by the "Vigilance 
Committee w to keep evil-doers in check. At Laramie, a 
mountain settlement not far away from the fort, he noted 
the bodies of no fewer than six horse-thieves hanging from 
the timbers of a partly-built house, while four more were 
dangling from the telegraph poles. Underneath was a 
notice to the effect that the Committee was prepared to 
deal in like manner with all other scoundrels of the same 
sort. A rough business, this lynch law, the Captain 
thought, yet many of the stories he heard of the brutalities 
practised by these lawless ruffians were horrible indeed. 

At length better weather arrived, and a company of 
officers started from Fort Saunders for the mountains, 
there to enjoy such sport as might offer. The day was 
bright, but intensely cold, and the mountains were every- 
where deep in snow. A march of five-and-thirty miles was 
that day's work, and then the camp was pitched by a 
stream in a sheltered hollow. Plenty of antelopes had 
been seen on the march, but they were very shy, and the 
total bag for the day was only two of these animals. The 
cold at night was severe, water inside the tents being 
frozen into solid lumps. 

The party of hunters now made another trek into a 
more promising district. The difficulties of the route 
were many and great, the track being a mere Indian trail, 
and not at all wide enough to accommodate waggons. 
Moreover, the way led through a dense forest and over the 

250 



ROUGH TRAVELLING 

elevated dividing ridge of the Rockies, and the labour 
involved was both heavy and tiresome. The growth of 
trees was so thick, and the number of fallen trunks so 
great, that a huge amount of timber had to be removed 
before a wheeled vehicle could pass along at all. In places 
were swamps, to cross which it was necessary to build a 
corduroy road — that is, a road made by placing transversely 
and close together the trunks of trees. Without such a 
contrivance horses and mules would have sunk to their 
middles in the swamps. Over the whole of the ground lay 
two feet of snow. For a couple of miles the party had to 
cut their way through this troublesome forest, till at last 
they came out at the summit of the pass, twelve thousand 
feet above the level of the sea. Both men and horses 
suffered greatly from the rarity of the atmosphere at this 
lofty elevation, their exertions causing them to gasp for 
breath. At the summit the snow showed the tracks of 
several varieties of wild beast — bears, panthers, wolves, 
and others. The grizzly was becoming scarce, the hunters 
were told, but the traces of one of these brutes were 
distinctly seen on the top of the pass. 

The day's work was not yet over; descending the 
other slope, they found it in parts so steep that the 
waggons were in constant danger of being thrown over and 
smashed. At length, after a hard day's toil, and a march 
of twenty miles, the soldiers pitched their tents, long after 
dark, at the extremity of what is called the North Park ; a 
strange misnomer, as not a tree was found in it. Captain 
Townshend had on the way spied a number of antelopes 
and deer pawing at a little frozen lake in a hollow. A 
shot from the edge of the cliff above brought down a fine 

251 



CAMPING ON THE HEIGHTS 

buck antelope, and scattered the rest of the herd in hot 
haste. 

The camp was pitched under five splendid pine-trees, 
the last of their kind seen for a time. The thick branches 
had kept the snow from the ground beneath, and the wood 
lying around furnished an ample supply of fuel for the 
glorious fires that were kept going. Thus even this lofty 
perch made no bad camping-ground. But there was 
another matter that required consideration ; the district 
was known to be infested with Indians. Sentries had 
therefore to be posted all round, and a good look-out kept, 
lest the party should be surprised by a band of Redskins. 
In truth, two of the company present had been not long 
before assailed by a gang of ten mounted Indians. The 
two were hunting, and busily engaged in stalking a herd of 
antelopes, when, without a moment's warning, there rang 
out on the air the dreaded war-whoop, "Ough, ough, 
ough !" The soldiers drew up behind a rock, as Captain 
Townshend puts it, "the cavalry on the right hand, the 
infantry on the left — one of them was mounted, the other 
on foot. r> Time after time the Indians attempted to 
dislodge the gallant couple, but without success, and the 
Redskins had at last to sheer off, leaving their plucky foes 
alive to tell the tale. 

While the men were resting for a day, after the heavy 
labours of yesterday, the American General and the English 
Captain set out to see what they could bring in for the pot. 
The sight of the towering Rockies all around was splendid. 
Says Townshend: "The magnificent range of mountains 
which surround the Park are unequalled in Europe for 
extent and heigh t," though, he adds, " they are surpassed 

252 



AN ANTELOPE-TRAP 

by the Alps in grand and striking scenery." Over moun- 
tain spurs, the General and the Captain pursued their 
course, and down into many a deep ravine, where every 
two or three hundred yards immense beaver-dams were 
found blocking the streams. Game in plenty was seen, 
but the animals were far too shy, and the men had to 
return to camp almost empty-handed, to learn that those 
of their comrades who had been out had had a like 
experience. 

On the 2nd of November tents were struck, and a move 
was made for the other side of the Park, where the River 
Platte has its rise. While the men went round with the 
waggons, the officers for the most part took a shorter cut, 
dropping down into a deep valley. On the banks of the 
stream at the bottom they came across a large herd of 
antelopes feeding. At once the hunters spread themselves 
out, keeping as much as possible under cover, till they had 
made a line round the herd. There were but two ways 
of escape open to the animals ; they must either swim the 
river or break through the line of guns. The latter was 
what they chose, and they dashed past, within ten yards of 
some of the men. Five fell, and the welcome addition to 
the larder was duly hoisted on to the waggons when they 
came along. The difficulty of getting across the river was 
serious, however, the stream being both wide and deep. 
Presently, in a gorge with very steep sides, the party 
came upon one of those strange characters often found in 
the hunting-grounds — a wild-looking fellow, dressed in the 
queerest and shabbiest garb. He was calmly drinking 
whisky, while beside him grazed his tough little mustang. 
Two companions of his, he said, had gone over to Fort 

253 



WASTEFUL SLAUGHTER OF DEER 

Steel with the skins and furs they had gathered, the party 
having had a run of luck. The solitary hunter was relieved 
when the soldiers assured him that they had seen no Red- 
skins in his neighbourhood. 

In one part the gorge of the Platte was found to be so 
narrow that there was no room even for a beast-track, the 
mountains on either hand rising almost sheer from the 
water's edge. The hunters were obliged to proceed along 
the bed of the stream, which was not deep, though rapid. 
The scenery was very grand. Whenever the mountain- 
flank receded a little and left a margin of strand by the 
river-side, there were plenty of traces of elk and mountain 
sheep. Running away from the main canon was a side-cleft. 
It was in this place, not so long before, that a curious and, 
in some ways, a regrettable thing had happened. A band 
of hunters had managed to drive into this smaller canon 
a herd of seven-and-twenty elk. The animals were in a 
trap, there being no outlet at the upper end. The conse- 
quence was that twenty-six out of the twenty -seven 
animals fell to the guns, the remaining elk making a dash 
through the line of his enemies, and getting clear away. 
The hour was late and the camp far distant; the men 
therefore left the carcasses for the night. When they came 
back next day to fetch up this notable supply of meat, 
they were surprised and vexed to find that the flesh was 
already putrid. The whole of the bodies had to be left 
lying where they were, to rot or be destroyed by wild 
beasts. We can imagine the Indians who passed that way 
cursing the greediness of the white man, for the Redskin 
believes that all the animals of the country have been sent 
by the Great Spirit solely for the use of himself and his 

254 






A LARGE HERD OF ELK 

family. The savage has this to be said on his side — that 
without such supplies he and his must inevitably perish. 

In due time the military sportsmen came into the Elk 
Mountain neighbourhood, the best hunting district of all, 
and here they made a considerable stay. All the members 
of the expedition had good sport, but we must follow the 
fortunes of the Englishman more especially. "We had 
just arrived on the brink of a deep canon," he says, in his 
account of one of the most remarkable of his experiences, 
" when we saw on the opposite bank a sight which made 
our hearts leap. It was no less than a herd, or band, as it 
is called, of over a hundred and sixty elk, we counted up to 
that number quietly grazing or lying down. For some 
minutes they did not notice us; but first one and then 
another old stag got up and looked uneasily in our direction. 
They must have got wind of us, for soon the whole herd 
were on the move, walking off in Indian file, and dis- 
appeared into a wooded glen in the mountain.'" 

Nothing could have better pleased the hunters, for they 
could not have got near to the animals in the open. A 
long detour was made by the party, with the view of 
getting to the other side of the elk, and then every man 
dropped down among the bushes, and crawled cautiously 
on all fours, gradually approching the glen. A vain labour, 
as it presently appeared, for to the astonishment of the 
men, the whole herd of elk was spied on the top of a peak, 
above and behind them. How the animals had got there 
was a mystery, but there they were, and staring down as if 
in wonderment at the strange behaviour of the enemy. 
Then they took to flight, and the hunters sprang upon 
their horses and made after them, the object being to turn 

255 



A GOOD SHOT 

the herd, if possible, before it reached a certain deep 
ravine farther on. But they were too late, most of the 
elk had got across before anything could be done to stop 
them. The space between the men and the nearest elk 
was fully five hundred yards, but a volley was fired into 
the herd nevertheless. Only one animal was hit, a hind- 
leg being broken by the bullet. On this some of the 
hunting party went off after the herd, pursuing at full 
speed, till hunters and hunted were swallowed up by the 
dense forest. Captain Townshend, with others, had had 
enough of it, and dismounted, to seek a shelter from the 
cutting wind and to deplore their bad luck, as they drank 
their whisky mixed with snow. 

The respite from labour, however, was not of long 
duration. The Englishman, chancing to look up, spied a 
magnificent head and horns among the branches a couple 
of hundred yards away. The elk was evidently staring 
intently at the party, but as the wind carried the scent 
away from the animal, he was not unduly alarmed. To 
seize his gun and fire was the work of an instant for 
Townshend, and the poor brute paid the penalty of his 
curiosity. The antlers proved to be the finest the English- 
man had ever seen, and he longed to take the head with 
him. But that was impossible under the circumstances in 
which the sportsmen were placed. 

It was high time, in truth, to think of something besides 
sport. The day was waning rapidly, and the distance 
back to the camp was no less than five-and- twenty miles. 
It was late even now for a start, but half their party had 
gone off after the herd of elk. To return without their 
comrades was not to be thought of, to search for them in 

256 



DIFFICULTIES 

that great and dense forest would be ridiculous. It was 
near sunset before the stragglers all returned, and the 
united party could set off homewards. The predicament 
was without doubt an awkward one. Here were they all, 
between twenty and thirty miles from camp; the inter- 
vening ground was of the most difficult and trying 
description, the horses were weary, the track was only a 
very indistinct trail at the best ; moreover, the time was 
winter, and winter high up among the Rockies ; last, but 
not least, the district was known to be haunted by Indians. 
There were but two alternatives, both sufficiently dis- 
agreeable : the hunters might endeavour to get back to 
the camp in spite of the distance, or they might spend the 
night on the mountain flank, amidst snow and ice, with- 
out tents or wraps, and exposed to possible attacks from 
the Redskins. This latter alternative was not to be 
thought of so long as anything at all better in the way of 
choice was left to them. 

The horsemen accordingly plunged into the gloomy 
forest, through which lay the way to the summit of the 
pass. The fallen timber was a sore trouble, and it was 
found very difficult to keep the jaded horses going. 
Moreover, the trees stood very thick, and the branches 
made havoc of both hands and clothes. Falls were 
plentiful, some of them nasty ones. One man was thrown 
from his mount with force against the trunk of a tree. 
In another case the animal got into a salt swamp, and was 
up to its head in it before it could be pulled up. The 
rider was only just in time to drag the poor brute from 
its dangerous predicament before it was too late. At last 
ascent and forest ended together, and from the top of the 

257 R 



RISKY TRAVELLING 

pass easier going appeared in the shape of descending 
grass slopes. 

By this time it was quite dark, and the rest of the 
journey promised to be attended with no little risk, if, 
indeed, it could be continued at all. Presently, by great 
good-fortune, the horsemen pulled up just in time to avoid 
destruction. They found themselves on the very brink of 
a perpendicular precipice, at the foot of which they could 
hear the rush of a stream. In some way the party 
managed to scramble by a steep game-track to the bottom 
of the ravine, but it was only to find themselves con- 
fronted by the difficulty of crossing the river, no easy 
thing when the darkness prevented them from seeing 
where the passage was most practicable. A halt had 
to be called to discuss the point, when someone threw 
out the bright idea of firing the grass. This was 
done, and, aided by the wind, the blaze soon lit up the 
whole neighbourhood. The creek was then successfully 
crossed. 

Hour after hour the party plodded doggedly on, game 
to the end, notwithstanding weariness of body and mind. 
At last they had their reward. In the distance were seen 
the big fires which their friends at the camp had made for 
their guidance. Soon, also, they could hear the shots fired 
there to attract their attention. 

They had been fourteen hours on horseback. The first 
bit of news they heard from their comrades at home was 
one that must have made the hunters rejoice more than 
ever that they had reached camp in safety. A party of 
Indians, it appeared, had surprised seven rancheros who 
were feeding their cattle on the mountain slopes, and all 

258 



SEVEN RANCHEROS SCALPED 

the poor fellows had been scalped. The rancheros had 
had but one revolver amongst them. As for the Indians, 
they had gone off, it was reported, to upset the train on 
the Union Pacific ! 

[From cs Ten Thousand Miles of Travel, Sport, and Adventure," 
by F. French Townshend. Hurst and Blackett, 1869. By kind 
permission from Colonel Townshend and Messrs. Hurst and 
Blackett.] 



259 R 2 



CHAPTER XXII 

REDSKINS ON THE MOUNTAINS OF NEW MEXICO 

Mr. Bell, a Cambridge man, attaches himself to a surveying expe- 
dition for the Kansas Pacific Railway — A difficult business and 
dangerous, as the Indian country had to be traversed — A 
military escort — Trinidad, to the north of the Raton Mountains 
— A rough place — Lynch law — Man hanged near Bell's bed- 
room window — The photography mule and its burdens — Fran- 
cisco, the prince of Mexican guides, joins the party— Surveyors 
run straight into an Indian settlement — Hasty flight of the Red- 
skins — A parley— Things begin to look suspicious — Reinforce- 
ments sent for — Timely arrival of cavalry — Indians foiled in 
their plundering raid — Difficulties of the map-makers — Moun- 
tain blasts — Flies and grasshoppers — Dust — The mule and the 
tent-ropes — Folks around inveterate horse-stealers — Seven 
horses taken — Mr. BelPs mare Kitty alone recovered — The 
Apache Pass by moonlight — It frightens the ladies — The Red - 
skins very numerous and very hostile — The chief had sworn to 
kill six hundred whites — Camp at Fort Bowie — Two Indians 
found raiding surveyors' cattle — Carrol, a young officer, and 
the mail-carrier follow the thieves on horseback — Infantry join 
in pursuit — Nothing seen of the Indians — Cavalry go off in 
search of Carrol and the mail-carrier — Night closes in — Bodies 
of the two missing men found — Naked, scalped, mutilated — 
Funeral service in the mountain graveyard — " Killed by the 
Apaches." 

In the year 1867 Mr. W. A. Bell, a Cambridge man and 
a doctor, wanting something in the way of excitement, 
attached himself to a large surveying party sent out by 

260 



A DIFFICULT BUSINESS 

the Kansas Pacific Railway Company. He was late in his 
application, and there was no post left but the humble 
one of photographer. This he accepted, and made haste to 
learn the art of photography, of which he knew nothing. 
Later on he trusted to make himself of use in other 
ways to the expedition. The business of the surveyors 
would be neither a light one nor without its dangers, for 
the very strongholds of the wild and hostile Indians 
would have to be penetrated, while the vast mountain 
ranges that would have to be traversed would bring other 
risks of their own. So likely were the Indians to harass 
the expedition, as a matter of fact, that the United 
States Government made provision for the protection of 
the surveyors, assigning them a certain military force. 

In the course of the ensuing operations Mr. Bell found 
himself, with a sergeant and two men, at Trinidad, to the 
north of the Raton Mountains, in New Mexico. It was 
the roughest place imaginable, the ranchers and other 
settlers being their own police, magistrates, and execu- 
tioners, executing swift and stern justice on all offenders 
against the moral code accepted in the district. Horse- 
stealing and cattle-lifting were punished by death. What 
the penalty was for murder was less clear — it depended, 
indeed, on various circumstances. Mr. Bell had an un- 
pleasant opportunity of witnessing the methods of the 
Trinidad folk. In a drinking saloon he noticed a wiry 
young fellow who was taking liquor with a friend. There 
was nothing to show that a tragedy was impending. 
Presently the man went out, and at once the company as 
a body departed also, and the Englishman was left alone. 
A motley gang it was that had sallied forth into the night, 

261 



LYNCH LAW 

every man armed with bowie-knife and revolver. Later 
on, when the stranger went to bed, he found a dead body 
swinging from a tree within a few yards of his window ! 
It was that of the wiry young fellow who had left the 
saloon an hour or two ago. It appeared that the man had 
robbed and murdered his mate near this place a year 
before, and had ventured back to the spot, trusting to his 
disguise. He had, however, been recognized by the 
townsmen, who had quietly laid their plans for punishing 
him. The fellow had been lynched, of course, and the 
wretch, it seemed, had died impenitent and graceless. 

The Raton Mountains were found to be intersected by 
four passes, varying from six to eight thousand feet in 
height. The sandstone was often disintegrated, and loose 
sand made the progress of the surveyors tiresome. In one 
spot the mule carrying the photographic outfit was again 
and again in such difficulties that the burden had to be 
taken off, and the animal dug out. It took four hours to 
do a distance of two miles — a wearisome job for Mr. Bell 
and a companion he had with him. 

At this place there joined the party a Mexican guide, a 
man of seventy years, but exceedingly active and alert. 
He was the very prince of guides, and what he did not 
know of the western districts was not worth knowing, as 
the saying runs. This man accompanied Bell and two or 
three military officers, with a small escort of cavalry, on 
the march to Trinchera Pass, the party advancing some 
distance ahead of the main surveying force. After pro- 
ceeding three miles two or three parties of men were 
observed approaching, and soon they were seen to be 
Indians. Before long the advance party ran straight into 

262 



AN INDIAN SETTLEMENT 

an Indian settlement. All the Redskins were perceived 
galloping off at full speed, the ground behind them 
strewn with the various litter of a camp, which in their 
hasty flight the braves had thrown away. But at the end 
of a mile the runaways reined up and watched the new- 
comers closely. The surveyors were puzzled to under- 
stand the reason for the flight of the Indians, the men 
appearing to be of the Ute tribe, which was at peace with 
the American Government. However, Francisco, the 
Mexican guide, and a sergeant were sent out to invite the 
Redskins to a parley. 

The natives in like manner sent out two of their 
number to meet Francisco and his companion, but it was 
observed that the rest of the Indians kept very close 
behind their couple. The delegates shook hands, and the 
parley began. At length, as the sergeant and the guide 
did not return, one of the officers went forward to see 
what was happening. He returned with much concern in 
his countenance, reporting that there was something 
wrong. The Indians professed to be the friends of the 
white men, but did not give any clear account of them- 
selves or of their intentions. They requested permission 
to take away their things, and this was allowed, the 
Americans being far outnumbered. Nevertheless a bold 
front was shown by the little band of surveyors, and they 
took stock of the troop of Redskins, most of whom were 
dressed in gaudy and barbaric fashion. Thus for some 
time the two parties stood, mutually afraid of one 
another. It was noted that when the Indians proceeded 
to pick up their traps, they were never all dismounted at 
once ; on the contrary, they were most careful to keep 

263 



INDIANS FOILED 

the majority in the saddle. They seemed very much at 
their ease, and made no sign of going off. 

The officers had taken the precaution to send back for 
reinforcements. It was just at the critical moment that a 
body of cavalry were seen dashing up the hill. Instantly 
every Redskin was off like the wind. The General was 
averse to the use of force, if it could be avoided. Had he 
then known what he afterwards knew, he would have 
attempted to stop the wily gentry. A Captain and his 
men chased the fugitives for some miles, firing after them 
to warn them that the country did not relish their 
presence. It now appeared that the Indians were Arapa- 
hoes, and that their object was the raiding of the district, 
and it was clear that but for the timely arrival of the 
cavalry all the upper valleys of the River Purgatoire 
would have been plundered. 

The difficulties in the way of the surveyors were many 
and of every possible kind. Even the making of plans 
and maps was beset with troubles and trials. Mr. Bell 
gives an amusing account of these vexations. " Alas ! 
sometimes, after hours of toil, a gust of wind would come, 
upset the ink or paint-box, rip up the nearly-finished 
map from off the impromptu table, and oblige the 
unfortunate map-makers to begin all their work afresh. 
In some places flies or grasshoppers would insist on 
helping the draughtsmen. Some would spot the canvas 
here, there, and everywhere ; while others, not content 
with this, would first jump into the Indian ink and then 
draw maps of their own wherever they chanced to alight. 
At other times clouds of dust would cover everything ; nor 
could any amount of pegging down keep the tent free 

264 



HORSE-STEALING 

from it. If I mistake not, Mr. Trap, our topographer, 
can tell how a frightened mule got entangled in the ropes 
and pulled the tent down over one of his best maps when 
almost completed." No wonder the surveyors congratu- 
lated themselves when a map passed with success through 
all these hostile attacks. 

In certain districts the men of science had much work 
to prevent their property, especially their horses, from 
being stolen. The country swarmed with horse thieves, 
and depredations were of the commonest occurrence, 
animals being run away with from their very pickets. 
The thieves almost invariably escaped to the mountain 
fastnesses, and it was rarely that the culprits were caught 
or the stolen animals recovered. Presently it was the 
photographer's turn, and one day a favourite mare, Kitty, 
was carried off. No reward, no protests to the authorities, 
could bring back the mare, and Mr. Bell had to resign 
himself to his loss. A fortnight later, while a section of 
the surveying body was at work some fifty miles away, a 
mare came up whinnying, as if with pleasure at seeing old 
friends again. The animal turned out to be the lost 
Kitty. Her owner was lucky, for seven other horses had 
been stolen the same week as his own, and not one of 
them was ever recovered. 

Occasionally, to avoid the intense heat of the day, the 
men would travel by moonlight, often through some wild, 
grand pass. This was the case with the Apache Pass, 
which was traversed by the light of the full moon. These 
mountains, the Burro Mountains, were infested with 
Indians, and the ladies of the surveying party — there were 
some — were not a little nervous on the occasion, especially 

265 



REDSKINS NUMEROUS AND HOSTILE 

when they passed under some towering crag or through a 
narrow defile. The cavalry rode on in advance, the 
waggons and the general body coming on behind. To 
keep the ladies cheerful, the men sang songs with all their 
might, making the mountain hollows resound again. 
"Now and then the horses'* hoofs would ring out and 
rattle over a bed of rocks ; or the moon, obscured behind 
the mountain, would suddenly throw a flood of light over 
the white waggons and glistening rifles of our party." 

The Americans were fortunate enough to get through 
without any hostile demonstration on the part of the 
Indians, but they would have felt less easy in their minds, 
possibly, had they then known how matters stood with 
the Redskins of the district. It appeared, as was presently 
learnt, that some time before an American officer had 
dealt heavily with the Indians, hanging six of them on 
the summit of a hill in sight of the tribe. The chief in 
his rage had sworn that for every one of his lost braves 
he would take the life of a hundred whites. And since 
that time the savages had made a point of slaying all they 
could come near — men, women, or children. This was the 
position of affairs when the surveying camp was pitched at 
Fort Bowie, on the top of a hill. 

Bell was strolling after luncheon among the mountains 
in search of good subjects when, looking back towards the 
camp, he perceived the place in commotion. The men of 
the garrison were hurrying towards the cattle, and a few 
shots were heard. The cause soon appeared. The mail- 
carrier to Tucson had returned to report that a couple of 
Indians had stolen out upon the cattle in the valley not 
far away. Postman and savages had fired at each other, 

266 



PURSUIT 

and then the former had made his way back to the camp 
to raise the alarm. The two Indians were seen once or 
twice in the open, but the men belonging to the garrison 
were all wearied with the long march, and were no match 
for the splendid steeds of the Redskins. There was but 
one horse in a fresh condition, a beautiful chestnut belong- 
ing to the Lieutenant. This was immediately saddled, and 
on its back sprang one of the youngest officers, Carrol by 
name, a fine lad, but in his teens still. " I watched him 
spring with one bound from the ground into his saddle, 
wave his hand merrily to us, and then dash down the 
steep, winding road which led from the fort to the pass 
below." The infantry, guided by the mounted mail- 
carrier, had already started after the Indians. 

Presently Lieutenant Lawson, " the gamest little fellow 
I ever met," taking six of the jaded cavalry horses and 
their riders, went off, too, quite unable to control himself 
longer. The merest chance of a brush with the Indians 
was to him irresistible. Time went on, and the infantry 
began to return by twos and threes. Later came Lieu- 
tenant Lawson and his cavalry, reporting that they had 
hunted the neighbouring mountains over, but had seen 
nothing of any savages whatever. To the surprise and 
concern of their comrades, neither Carrol nor the postman 
had returned, and nothing was known of them ; all the 
rest of the garrison were at home. Some of the men had 
heard distant firing, which came from the direction the 
Redskins had taken. Things had indeed assumed a very 
doubtful aspect. 

" We saddled our horses without a moment's delay, and, 
with sickening forebodings in our hearts, started across 

267 



SEARCH FOR MISSING MEN 

the mountains to the western plain. We scrambled up 
the base of Helen's Dome, which was so steep as almost to 
baffle our horses, well trained as they were to all sorts of 
bad places ; then, after skirting the side for some distance, 
we crossed a ravine to another mountain-slope, down which 
we plunged, over large blocks of limestone and marble, 
leading our horses by the bridles, and clambering through 
them as best we could. Every moment was precious, for 
the sun had almost set." 

The men were only nine, all told, and they spread 
themselves out to look for the trail. A diligent search 
was made, every blade of grass being examined. At last 
the cry of " Pony tracks !" was raised, and then a man 
shouted : " This way they lead P The tracks were no 
longer confined to two : there were fully a dozen. It was 
clear that Carrol and the postman had followed too far — 
that they had, in fact, been drawn into an ambuscade and 
surprised. Most of the hoof-marks on the ground were 
those of unshod horses, but there were two animals 
amongst the lot that were evidently shod, and they were 
no doubt those from the camp. The pursuers were now 
more eager than ever to hurry on, and yet it was im- 
possible to make any very rapid progress, it being difficult 
to keep the trail in view in the fading daylight. Within 
half an hour it would be quite dark, and then all 
search must end for the day. So the men pressed on 
anxiously. 

Three miles farther they rode, and then it became only 
too clear what had happened. A much-trampled spot 
was passed, where there were blood-stains. Here the 
unlucky fellows had made their stand, no doubt attempting 

268 



MUTILATED BODIES FOUND 

to cut their way through the enemy. At no great distance 
on ahead the pursuers learnt the fate of their comrade 
and the mail-carrier. The dead body of the latter was 
found on the ground, " scalped, naked, and mutilated in 
the setting sun.'" Even one side of the unfortunate man's 
whiskers had been scalped, leaving the corpse a terrible 
sight. 

Not a moment did the soldier surveyors stop by the 
dead postman, but hurried on at full speed, following the 
pony tracks. The sun set, and it was only by the red 
glare reflected from the mountains that the search was 
continued. Darker and darker it grew, and the men 
began to abandon all hope of ever finding the corpse of 
poor Carrol. 

Yet the thought that the luckless young officer might 
be even then undergoing horrible tortures at the hands of 
his captors, might be roasted over a slow fire, while his 
enemies danced in exultation around, was enough to keep 
the soldiers at the task. If only they could recover the 
dead body of their comrade they would be satisfied, or, at 
any rate, much more satisfied. At last some object was 
seen to move in the grass half a mile away. Galloping 
towards it, the soldiers found it to be Carrol's dog, which 
was faithfully guarding the lifeless body of his master. 
There lay the gallant lad, stiff and naked. The body was 
picked up, and the party rode sadly back in search of the 
other corpse. The two were carried to the camp. " The 
wolves were already gathering round the spot, and the 
night winds were blowing up cold and chill." The night 
before the surveying party had shouted merry songs in 
another pass not far away, and under that same brilliant 

269 



FUNERAL SERVICE 

moon ; now here were they, in a neighbouring pass, slowly 
marching in mournful silence, the bearers of the naked and 
mutilated bodies of their friends. 

The two poor fellows were buried next day in the little 
graveyard among the mountains, the doctor reading the 
Burial Service. In that cemetery every grave, with one 
exception, bore the legend, "Killed by the Apaches.'" 
" Two more scalps were thus added to the long strings of 
those which already hung from the belts of the Chiricahui 
braves," helping to make up the ghastly total of six 
hundred which the chief had vowed to sacrifice. 

[From " New Tracks in North America/' by W. A. Bell, M.A., 
M.B. Cantab. Chapman and Hall, 1870. By kind permission of 
Messrs. Chapman and Hall.] 



270 



CHAPTER XXIII 

VESUVIUS IN 1872 

Vesuvius, a volcano well studied — Professor Palmieri and his 
observatory — The cone of Vesuvius — Activity of the mountain 
in 1871 — A rift in the rim of the crater— In April a new cone 
formed— Earth tremors— The climax, April 26, 1872— The 
crater like a vast fire — Lava streams — Increase in the violence 
of the eruption — A terrible ' ' Black Friday "■ — San Sebastiano 
partly destroyed by lava — Palmieri and his plucky devotion — 
i( Between two torrents of liquid fire" — A vast table-like 
column of smoke and steam — An awful but magnificent spec- 
tacle — Terror of surrounding populations — Huge blocks of lava 
and stone hurled forth— Violent explosions — Showers of sand 
and ashes — Tremendous displays of thunder and lightning — 
The roar of the mountain — People abandoning the vicinity in 
thousands— Exaggerated accounts of the fatalities — Devotion 
of the King of Italy — Foolhardy sight-seers — Palmieri's warn- 
ings — A party ascend to the Atria — Sudden rent in the cone — 
Smoke, lava, hot projectiles — Visitors overwhelmed — Soldiers 
placed to keep back the reckless — Thieves at work — Soldiers 
compelled to hide from showers of ashes and scoriae — The 
mountain "sweats fire " — Rain begins to descend — Great floods 
afterwards — The beginning of the end — Eruption less violent 
on the 29th — By May 1 eruption practically over. 

Of all the great volcanic mountains of the earth, Vesuvius 
is the one which has been most thoroughly studied, and 
whose various eruptions have been most fully described — 
this for reasons that are too obvious to need stating here. 

271 



PROFESSOR PALMIERI 

From the terrible historic outburst which destroyed the 
cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, in a.d. 79, to the latest 
eruption of our own days, accounts more or less complete 
have, as a rule, been published by competent observers. 

One of the most remarkable of the Vesuvian outbursts 
of modern times took place in the year 1872, and the story 
of it was told by a very able observer and devoted man of 
science, Professor Palmieri, of the adjoining city of Naples. 
Some time before there had been erected high up on the 
mountain, at an elevation of more than two thousand feet 
above the sea, an observatory, from which the volcano 
might be watched and studied. Here the Professor was 
stationed, ever on the watch, and helped in his observations 
by various scientific instruments. 

The summit cone of Vesuvius rises from the remains of 
an older crater. It is very steep in slope, and the loose 
cinders and scoriae, of which it is in great measure formed, 
yield under the foot, making the ascent to the top rather 
heavy work. The crater, when once it is reached, is found to 
be nearly oval in shape, and about one thousand one hundred 
yards across. The ridge on which the Royal Observatory 
stands is probably the remains of a portion of a former 
cone, now destroyed. The present summit cone rears its 
crest to a height of more than four thousand feet above 
the sea. 

The activity of the mountain began to show itself nearly 
a year before, when the crater threw out a quantity of red- 
hot stones and ashes. On January 13, 1872, a rift was torn 
in the rim of the crater, and lava nWed forth. A fresh 
cone then began to rise, and this increased in size for two 
or three months, sending out smoke and projectiles all the 

272 



SIGNS OF DISTURBANCE 

time, while the main or old crater was also active, accom- 
panying its discharges by many loud reports. By April 
the new cone had filled the old crater, and had overtopped 
it to some extent. Lava in plenty had flowed over the 
rim and down the sides of the cone into the ancient crater, 
usually known as the Atria. The lava stream had, in 
fact, travelled still lower, and one branch of it ran in the 
direction of the observatory. Later on, the ridge on 
which this building stood had a hot lava stream on either 
side of it, which kept the temperature at a most un- 
comfortable height, as will be seen. 

The surrounding country was disturbed by frequent 
earth tremors, some of them being veritable earthquakes, 
which shook all the vicinity. Rumbling noises were heard 
beneath the earth, and wells, springs, and runlets of water 
dried up. At the time of the March full moon, just a 
month before the great eruption, the north-west side of 
the cone opened and let out a vast stream of lava. 

On the 24th of April, at the season of the next full 
moon, the great eruption broke out furiously. The crater 
was reported to be like a vast fire, and the lava to be 
descending from the great fissure in the cone. The hollow 
of the crater was full to overflowing with the molten 
matter, which poured over the rim. Violent explosions 
succeeded each other rapidly, and smoke and ashes were 
hurled high into the air. The violence of the eruption 
increased during the following day, and the culmination 
came on the 26th, a memorable " Black Friday " for the 
inhabitants of Naples and its neighbourhood. The rift in 
the side of the mountain was forced open still wider, and 
soon a vast stream of lava, more than half a mile wide, 

273 s 



PANIC-STRICKEN INHABITANTS 

was making its way down the slopes and over parts of the 
surrounding country. There appear to have been two 
main streams, one running generally in the direction of 
Naples, which destroyed a large part of the town of San 
Sebastiano ; a second stream made for Torre del Greco 
and Torre del? Annunziata, two beautiful towns standing 
near the shore of the Bay of Naples. 

The inhabitants of San Sebastiano were panic-stricken, 
and those who could took to flight. The destitution and 
distress were so severe that on the following Sunday the 
King, Victor Emmanuel, himself spent the day in ad- 
ministering relief and taking all possible precautionary 
measures. The terror spread to the other two towns just 
named, where were populations of over twenty thousand 
and thirty thousand respectively. More and more widely 
spread the panic, and soon numbers of the Neapolitans 
were leaving their city for Rome and other distant places. 
The lava meanwhile had reached a point within two or 
three miles of the sea itself. So vast was the quantity of 
the boiling lava, and so many and so unaccountable were 
the vagaries of the streams, that no man knew whither it 
might not advance. No place within miles of the moun- 
tain seemed safe from destruction by the rivers of mud 
and lava. 

Meanwhile, Professor Palmieri was up in his observa- 
tory, in the very thick of the danger. Not once during 
the whole time of the eruption did the scientist desert his 
post. As already told, two streams of lava ran beneath 
him, one on either side. The heat was almost insupport- 
able: the glass of the observatory was cracked, and the 
building scorched. The people around were astonished at 

274 



A MAGNIFICENT SIGHT 

his temerity, and many were the fears expressed that he 
would in the end fall a victim to his devotion. Nothing 
braver than Palmieri's retention of his post up on his 
little hill, surrounded by such dangers, has been seen in 
our days. 

But it was not only the lava streams that terrified the 
neighbourhood. A vast table-like column of smoke and 
steam rose from the top of the mountain, reaching to a 
height of four miles, or five times that of the cone itself. 
By night this presented a marvellous and terrible sight, 
appearing at frequent intervals as if it were a prodigious 
column or sheet of fire. Explosions of the most violent 
character were heard, and the earth trembled beneath the 
feet, even at a great distance from Vesuvius itself. Huge 
blocks of lava or stone, riven from the very heart of the 
mountain, were hurled into the air at enormous speeds. 
Most of these huge fiery projectiles appear to have fallen 
back into the crater itself or on to its edge, showing that 
they had been shot up perpendicularly. 

Quite otherwise was it with the smaller stones, the sand, 
the dust, and the ashes, which were projected into the air 
in such prodigious quantities. These were driven by the 
wind to great distances. For miles around the mountain 
the air was rendered dark by the vast clouds of dust and 
ashes ; this was especially the case on the 28th, after the 
lava streams and the fiery projectiles had more or less ceased. 
Even in Naples, five miles distant, they fell in quantities, 
and the finer dust was carried still farther afield — even to 
Palermo, in Sicily, roughly two hundred miles away as the 
crow flies. 

Another remarkable thing to be observed was the 

275 s 2 



ELECTRICAL EXCITATION 

thunder and lightning that came on after the eruption 
had been in progress for some time. Violent electrical 
disturbance is often the result of volcanic activity on the 
grander scale. Professor Judd tells us that "every volcano 
in violent eruption is a very efficient hydro - electric 
machine, and the up-rushing column is in a condition of 
intense electrical excitation. This result is probably 
aided by the friction of the solid particles as they are 
propelled upwards and fall back into the crater. 1 ' So it 
was with Vesuvius in 1872. The electrical commotions 
were on the grandest scale, and thousands of people 
witnessed the effect of the almost continuous and most 
vivid flashes of lightning. The whole of the vast column 
of smoke and steam was lighted up with intensest bril- 
liance ; but the thunder, violent as it was, was almost lost 
amid the roar of the mountain, as the enormous volumes 
of steam were blown from the crater with titanic force 
into the air. 

It may well be imagined what terror all this would 
bring to the inhabitants of the districts around. As has 
already been told, more than one considerable village had 
been partly destroyed. Others, such as Portici and 
Resina, were threatened, and the people were abandoning 
the places. Naples itself, though at a good distance from 
the volcano, was stirred into something like a panic. At 
the very outset the inhabitants had been so alarmed by 
the roar of the mountain, by the tremendous discharges, 
and by the tremblings of the earth, that they were unable 
to sleep, and hundreds wandered about the streets all 
night. The wildest reports were spread abroad. One 
account said that thirty persons had been buried under 

276 



THE KING'S DEVOTION 

the burning lava. Another story magnified the disasters, 
and placed the number of dead at sixty ; while a third 
report, widely received, stated that the fatalities mounted 
up to a total of two hundred. It was said that certain 
English were among the victims. In fine, the wildest and 
most exaggerated accounts were spread abroad and 
credited. They were even telegraphed to all the great 
capitals. Of the devotion of the King of Italy during 
this terrible time some mention has been made ; in truth, 
the Italian authorities were incessant and most active in 
their efforts to relieve distress, and to ensure, as far as 
might be, the safety of the people. It was a pitiful sight 
to see the terror of many of the country folk. Women 
were abroad weeping passionately, and imploring God to 
have mercy. 

But if many were abandoning themselves to panic and 
despair, others were more strongly moved by curiosity. 
Crowds thronged the foot of the mountain, and, in spite 
of the manifest dangers attending the ascent, insisted on 
getting as near to the awful theatre of operations as they 
could, notwithstanding the warnings of the better informed. 
At last the inevitable happened. A party, consisting 
mainly of medical students, made for the great rent in the 
side of the cone, from which the stream of lava welled forth. 
The visitors were in charge of guides who knew nothing 
of the dangers awaiting them. Palmieri warned the 
party of the terrible risk they ran, but his words were not 
heeded. The men had got up as far as the Atria when, 
without a moment's warning, the cone of the mountain 
split on that side, and at the same time two more craters 
were formed on the top. From the rent the lava flowed, 

277 



FOOLHARDY NIGHT-SEERS 

and from the new outlets above smoke poured forth in 
vast quantities, and hot stones were hurled into the air 
with tremendous force. 

The visitors were caught as in a trap. Dense smoke 
enveloped them, darkening the air around. The burning 
stones fell among them, and the lava threatened to over- 
whelm them. A more terrible situation cannot be 
imagined than that in which the foolhardy spectators 
found themselves. Several were overwhelmed and lost, 
while others were terribly injured before they could escape 
to a place of comparative safety. The sufferers were 
about twenty in number, of whom eight were killed out- 
right. This was on the 26th of April, the day when the 
eruption began to reach its greatest violence. 

The authorities now placed soldiers to keep too 
venturesome folk away from the mountain, a measure that 
doubtless saved many lives ; for, notwithstanding all that 
had happened, there were crowds still ready to rush into 
danger. The soldiers had yet another duty — that of 
putting a stop to the operations of the thieves. Even at 
such a time of terror as this, the thief was abroad and 
busy among the deserted houses and the panic-stricken 
people. 

All through the three days— the 26th, 27th, 28th— the 
volcano continued to do its worst. In many places the 
showers of cinders and scoriae were such that no one could 
stand against them. Near Cercola the soldiers had to flee 
and hide themselves from this disastrous rain. The number 
of fissures in the mountain side increased, and each poured 
forth its fiery streams. In the words of Professor Palmieri, 
Vesuvius " sweated fire." Then there followed rain of a 

278 



END OF THE ERUPTION 

different kind, as is always the case in eruptions of this 
magnitude. The enormous volumes of steam that ascended 
saturated the air, and raindrops began to descend. Later 
on the downfall became excessive, and a strange sequel to 
the eruption of Vesuvius was the flooding of the lands 
around, causing much destruction of property and crops. 

Up to midnight on the 28th the outburst continued 
with almost unabated force ; then the mountain began 
to show signs of exhaustion, and Professor Palmieri 
prophesied that the end was approaching. He was right. 
On the 29th the violence of the eruption had lessened 
considerably : the lava flowed but feebly, the detonations 
grew less noisy, the showers of ashes almost disappeared. 
At Naples, even on the 28th, there was a blue sky over- 
head, and the people began to regain confidence. By the 
1st of May the outburst was practically at an end. 

Thus ended one of the greatest eruptions of Vesuvius in 
modern times. Far more violent were those at Krakatoa 
a few years later, and at Mont Pelee, in Martinique, quite 
recently, but of no eruption have we such complete 
accounts. In its main features the various phases of the 
outburst bear a singular likeness to those of the Mont 
Pelee eruption, which is described in the last chapter of 
this volume. Happily, the destruction of life in the 
former was insignificant in comparison with that which 
occurred in the West Indian island. 



279 



CHAPTER XXIV 

ON THE MOUNTAINS OF TIBET 

Tibet always a mysterious country — Difficulties physical and political 
— Mr Andrew Wilson, a Scotch traveller — He determines to 
attempt to pass the border of Tibet — The Kung-ma Pass, sixteen 
thousand feet high — Camp half-way up — A country " grand and 
savage beyond description" — View of a sheer descent of 
thirteen thousand feet— The rarefied air — Bleeding at the nose 
— A servant loses his mental balance for a time — The rays of 
the sun will destroy the skin of a European in five minutes — 
A deserted Tartar guard-house at the summit — The descent to 
Shipki — A very trying experience — No level ground for a tent 
in Shipki — Wilson's coolies and the Shipki women at logger- 
heads — A comical scene — Determined opposition to the 
strangers — <c Angels in big boots "■ — A hopeless task — The men of 
the district hostile — They report that no strangers are to be 
allowed to pass the village into the country — A friendly lama 
— Wilson's servants refuse to proceed — Shipki folk unfriendly 
and insolent — In danger of starving — Reasoning all in vain — 
Dangers in store beyond Shipki — Tartar soldiers — Robbers — 
The frightful cruelties practised by the Tibetans — The ' ( com- 
mander " of a non-existent fort — Wilson finds it quite impossible 
to go on — Change of plan — Good story of an officer and a rope- 
bridge — A start for Cashmere — The jhula bridges — Description 
of their construction and of their dangers — A risky crossing — 
Chota Khan and the stout lady — Happily all safe across the 
Sutlej. 

The country of Tibet has long been, and still remains, one 
of the most mysterious, because least visited, of all the 

280 



MR. ANDREW WILSON 

territories of our globe. And everybody knows what are 
the difficulties in the path of the traveller who wishes to 
explore that out-of-the-way land. They are not wholly 
physical difficulties that beset the explorer, though these 
are serious enough to deter all but the boldest and the 
most robust. The political difficulties in the way of the 
adventurous traveller are even more trying and formidable 
— the intense objection of the Tibetans and their rulers to 
admit within their borders any strangers, especially Euro- 
peans. What troubles the two sets of difficulties together 
may cause the explorer the experiences of Mr. Andrew 
Wilson, as far back as the year 1875, serve to show. They are 
recorded in his delightful volume, " The Abode of Snow." 
It had been Mr. Wilson's intention at first to confine 
himself wholly to the borders of Tibet, but the distant 
sight of the forbidden land was too much for him, and he 
determined to make an attempt to pass the frontiers into 
the country itself. He approached the stupendous 
Himalayas by the usual road from Simla, and then stopped 
to consider what route he should take next. He desired to 
get to Shipki, the first town, or considerable village, 
within the borders of Chinese Tibet, and he found that 
there are two tracks thither. One leads over the lofty 
Kung-ma Pass, no less than sixteen thousand feet above 
the sea ; the other up the gorge of the Sutlej, and along the 
face of the frightful cliffs on the farther side, a route never 
to be thought of if the other is at all open. Up the 
sixteen thousand feet of the Kung-ma, then, Wilson 
prepared to toil. It was a formidable undertaking, even 
though the pass was to be attacked from a height of ten 
thousand feet, for the traveller was in only indifferent 

281 



THE KUNG-MA PASS 

health. However, procuring yaks at Khalb, he and his 
servants set off. 

They camped for the first night half-way up to the 
summit, at a place which afforded not only a bit of level 
ground for the tent, a most important matter in that 
country, but also plenty of brushwood for the fire. It was 
a fine, clear evening, and the views from their elevated 
camp were, needless to say, marvellous, and more, they 
were " savage and grand beyond description." Before 
them stood the mountain " in all its terrific majesty. 1,1 
On every hand the sight was sublime — almost appalling. 
" But the surprising scene before us was on the left bank 
of the Spiti River, and on the right of the Sutlej, or that 
opposite to which we were. A mountain rose almost sheer 
up from the Sutlej, or from nine thousand feet to the 
height of twenty-two thousand one hundred and eighty- 
three feet, in gigantic walls, towers, and aiguilles of cream- 
coloured granite and quartz, which had all the appearance of 
marble. At various places a stone might have rolled from 
the summit of it down into the river, a descent of over 
thirteen thousand feet." Its appearance our traveller 
likens to that of Milan Cathedral magnified many millions 
of times. 

The effect of the rarefied air on the party, as next day 
they toiled up to still higher elevations than that of 
Namgea, where they had spent the night, was soon 
apparent, especially on Chota Khan, an Afghan servant 
with Wilson. At almost every step the man had to pause, 
and when he and one or two more of the party began to 
bleed at the nose he became bewildered. At one place 
was to be seen a glacier hanging above them near the top 

282 



THE RAYS OF THE SUN 

of the pass, and here Chota Khan sat down, quite un- 
nerved, crying and lamenting, and cursing his fate. He 
recovered his balance later on, however, and became 
the gayest of the party. That was after he had passed 
the summit and found himself going downhill again. 

Although a start was made as early as four in the 
morning, it took nearly ten hours to surmount the pass and 
reach the village of Shipki. All day they suffered terribly 
from the rays of the sun, or rather from the reflected rays 
from the rocks, though the air itself was comparatively 
cool and fresh. " So powerful are the rays of the sun in 
summer that exposure to them/or even to a good reflec- 
tion of them, will destroy the skin of the hands or face of 
a European in five minutes or less."" No wonder the 
traveller records that they were all a little ill after crossing 
this pass ! It was not so much the rarefied air, or even 
the exertion of climbing ; it was rather the heat and glare 
from the rocks, and the tremendous steepness of the 
descent from the summit to Shipki. As he rested a while 
on the top, and gazed on the awful spectacle of grandeur 
all around, the traveller, in his semi-convalescent state, could 
almost imagine he had passed away altogether from this 
lower earth, " and had alighted upon a more glorious world." 

From the summit, on the way to the village, there 
appeared no spot of ground suitable for camping, except 
one which offered neither wood nor water, so the cavalcade 
kept on. They had passed, near the summit, an old 
Tartar guard-house, the spot being the Chinese frontier. 
The place was deserted, to the joy of the party, and there 
would now be nothing to stop them on the threshold of 
the forbidden country till they reached Shipki itself. 

283 



DESCENT TO SHIPKI 

But what a descent was that six thousand feet from the 
crest to the village! There is no descent in Scotland, 
Wilson declares, thinking of his native country, to compare 
with it in its utter wearisomeness ; while even " Caledonia 
stern and wild " can in no way show the wild sterility of 
those Tartar mountain masses. The constant and long- 
continued bumping of the yak on which he rode most of 
the way almost threw the master back into his fever, and 
he had to be carried by his servants a part of the distance. 
Chota Khan and a fellow-servant or two had been sent on 
in advance to Shipki, to set up the little mountain tents 
in readiness for the arrival of the rest of the party. What 
the rest actually found when they came in sight of the 
village must now be told. It must first be explained that 
Shipki has not naturally a yard of level ground, except, as 
an Irishman might put it, the roofs of the houses. There 
were, however, a few fields in terraces near the houses, the 
making of these terraces having involved great labour on 
the part of the inhabitants. 

An amusing sight presented itself when Wilson rode 
down towards the village, and saw what was going on. " A 
band of handsome and very powerful young Tartar women 
— clad in red or black tunics, loose trousers, and immense 
cloth boots, into which a child of five years old might 
easily have been stuffed — had constituted themselves the 
guardians of these terraced fields, and whenever Chota 
Khan or any of his companions attempted to enter, they 
not only placed their bulky persons in the way, but even 
showed determined fight. Woman to man, I believe these 
guardian angels could have given our people a sound 
thrashing."" Mr. Wilson utilized this experience later on 

284 




j - E^gT*^ ^ 



Awkward and unexpected Opponents 

A group of handsome and very powerful young Tartar women showed fight, and would not 
allow Wilson's men to occupy the terrace. 



I 



DETERMINED OPPOSITION 

to sharpen up his servants ; he had only to remark that 
one Shipki woman was a match for any two of his men to 
stir up the the laggards effectually. For the present " the 
angels in big boots " had it all their own way, and the 
luckless Chota Khan and his fellows were quite funable to 
pitch their tents. A companion of Wilson's, a Mr. 
Pagell, who could speak Tibetan well, tried to reason with 
the women, but in vain. 

However amusing the scene, the thing had its more 
serious side. It was necessary to camp somewhere, after 
the many hours of heavy toil. There was no place in Shipki 
or its immediate neighbourhood where a tent could be 
placed save in these terraced enclosures, and these the 
women refused to have occupied in that way. They 
admitted that there was no other ground available in the 
village, but referred the travellers to a little patch they 
had passed half-way down, and ordered them to return 
thither — a cool suggestion, the carrying out of which would 
have meant a climb back of three thousand feet at the 
least ! Mr. Wilson himself tried all his blandishments on 
the bellicose women, but it was useless. They would not 
budge an inch. All the while the men of Shipki remained 
in the village itself, watching with keen eye the progress 
of events, and it was not hard to see that the least resist- 
ance by force would have brought down upon the travellers 
the whole fighting force of the place. That some or all of 
the party would then have been murdered there can be no 
room for doubt. 

Wilson at length began to get irritated, and he might 
have said or done something to precipitate a catastrophe 
had there not fortunately come up a lama who was known 

285 






A FRIENDLY LAMA 

to Mr. Pagell. The lama took the part of the strangers, 
and soon settled matters by giving them a small field of 
his own in which to pitch their tents. Even yet it seemed 
as if there would not be peace, for the young Tartar men f 
grumbled, and appeared disposed to oppose the entry of 
the traveller's party into the lama's field. The strangers 
were luckily too quick for the fellows, and, making a dash 
for the place, took possession in triumph. 

The difficulties were only just beginning. Wilson's 
intention was to spend but one night at Shipki, and then 
pass on into the heart of the country ; but the next day 
found him still in the village, and the day after that. a 
The coolies and yakmen he had brought with him refused 
to go a mile farther. They had done their duty, they f 
insisted, in bringing him as far as Shipki, and that at 
great inconvenience to themselves, it being the harvest 
season. They declared that to go on farther meant serious 
risk to the whole party, for the Tartars were certain, sooner 
or later, to fall upon them. No offers of increased pay 
could induce the servants to change their minds. 

Far worse to deal with were the Tartar folk of Shipki 
and district. They laughed to scorn the notion of pro- 
ceeding farther into Tibet. They said they were under 
the strictest orders to prevent all Europeans from penetrat- 
ing into the country, and more especially Englishmen. 
They declared that it was the deliberate policy of the l 
British to seize upon their lands whenever they could, as 
had been done in the case of India ; that, no matter how 
peaceably in appearance the British entered a strange 
country, in the end the result was always their seizure of 
it. When Wilson referred to the Treaty of Tientsin, 

286 



CRUELTY OF TIBETANS 

which gave British subjects the right to travel in China, 
the Tartars declared that Tibet was not China proper, but 
only loosely bound to that country. In short, the Shipki 
men were impracticable. 

But they went on to declare, also, that it was not 
only because of orders from Lassa that they stopped 
the strangers ; it would cost them their heads at least 
if they went contrary to the wishes of the bulk of their 
countrymen. Even death was not the worst in store 
for them if they admitted foreigners through their town. 
Mr. Wilson afterwards learnt of the extraordinary and 
inconceivably horrible tortures practised by the Tibetans 
on those who had offended them. Nothing could be more 
terrible, in fact. When, therefore, the Skipki men 
declared they might as well be killed opposing the 
entrance of the strangers as for letting them pass, there 
was reason in their contention. They went on, however, 
to declare that they could not be injured by the un- 
believing Europeans, because the Tibetans had the only 
true religion, and that would preserve them from hurt in 
combat with infidel strangers ! 

The inhabitants of the place were not only impractic- 
able, but also uncivil. Not a thing would they sell to the 
travellers, who, on their part, seemed not unlikely to 
starve in the midst of plenty. Even when, after a while, 
they expressed a willingness to bargain, it soon appeared 
that they meant nothing more than to annoy their 
visitors. After selling a sheep for five rupees, the Shipki 
folk raised the price to six, then to seven, nearly thrice 
its value on the spot. It was clear they were making 
game of the strangers. Wilson complained to one of the 

287 



DANGERS AGAIN 

rulers of the place, and that individual referred him to 
another functionary, and he to a third official, and so 
the thing went on. But in truth it was impossible to get 
anybody to admit that he was an official at all. In the 
end the traveller was always referred to the " commander 
up in the fort " as a final authority. Strange to say, 
Wilson was unable to find any fort at all, or to come 
across the commander. There was then said to be a 
fort eight marches farther on, but no one would undertake 
to forward a letter to the commandant of the place. 

Here, then, were the European travellers and their men 
effectually stopped at the very frontier of Tibet, as so 
many others have been. Wilson had some thoughts of 
going back to get more yaks and men, and then of return- 
ing to attempt to rush Shipki by night. But the season 
was getting late ; moreover, his time was growing shorter 
every day, and he greatly desired to visit Cashmere. But 
that was not all. He managed to gain some information 
as to what was to be expected beyond Shipki, should he 
manage to pass it ; and the accounts were not encouraging, 
to say the least of it. Not far on the other side of the 
town there was a bridge over the Sutlej, guarded by Tartar 
troops. These men would have to be faced, seeing that 
there was no way of crossing that great river but by the 
main road. Further, just beyond the bridge came a 
district of robbers, as one of Wilson's attendants well 
knew, having many scars on his head, which he had 
received on a former occasion at the hands of these 
robbers. It was most likely that the European's head 
would presently adorn the tent-pole of some Tartar 
robber-chief, if he persisted in his attempts to push into 

288 



ON A ROPE BRIDGE 

the interior of the country. The wily and vindictive 
Tibetans, moreover, had methods that, like those of the 
heathen Chinee, were " peculiar." Often a man would 
pretend to be reconciled to his enemy, and would invite 
him to dinner as a sign that all was peace between them. 
When his enemy had well dined and was off his guard, 
the treacherous host would fall upon him and murder him 
in cold blood. 

As to the bridge, the traveller heard a story that is too 
good not to be repeated, though it was not one calculated 
to afford any comfort to a man who might find himself in 
a similar position to that of the hero of the tale. At this 
bridge beyond Shipki, not so long before, an officer 
managed to give the guard the slip in the night, and 
sped on, congratulating himself on his piece of cleverness. 
Presently he was overtaken by a number of soldiers from 
the guard-house, and they politely informed him that, 
since he had got across, they would accompany him on his 
journey into the country to protect him from the robbers. 
All went well for a time. At last the party came to a 
large river, the crossing of which was effected by a rope 
bridge. Some of the soldiers had themselves pulled over, 
in order to show the stranger that the bridge was quite 
safe. Then the officer started. Into the middle he came, 
and then — the Tartars ceased to pull, and the man was 
left suspended over the middle of the river ! The soldiers 
sat down and smoked their pipes with the utmost calm- 
ness, while the poor stranger hung in his breezy and 
uncomfortable position, slowly freezing. In vain he 
stormed and raved, cursed and entreated by turns : the 
Tartars would neither pull nor allow him to pull himself. 

289 T 



START FOR CASHMERE 

la short, they kept him there till it was dark and he was 
nearly frozen to death. He was compelled to capitulate, 
and was released at length on his promise to return to the 
boundary and make no farther attempt to enter Tibet at 
any point. 

The upshot of all these considerations was that 
Mr. Wilson was compelled to give up his proposed 
journey into the heart of Tibet, and set his face toward 
Cashmere, working more or less along the boundary. It 
was likely to prove a heavy journey, involving, as it did, a 
course along the line of the Himalayas, and not across it, 
the route lying for the most part at an elevation of some 
twelve thousand feet. He made his start from Lio 
Porgyul, not so far from Shipki, crossing the Sutlej near 
Lio by the first of the jhula bridges, of which he was 
afterwards to see so many. This kind of bridge is con- 
structed of twigs, mainly birch, twisted together. " Two 
thick ropes of these twigs, about the size of a man's thigh, 
or a little larger, are stretched across the river at a 
distance of about six to four feet from each other, and a 
similar rope runs between them, three or four feet lower, 
being connected with the upper ropes by more slender 
vertical ropes, also usually of birch twigs twisted together, 
but sometimes of grass, and occurring at an interval of 
about five feet from each other." 

It needs no stretch of the imagination to fancy the 
scenes that must be witnessed at these jhula bridges. 
Mr. Wilson found it no easy task to cross the first. He 
had to stoop painfully where the rope sagged most ; then 
in the middle he had to step over a wooden cross-bar, 
placed there to keep the ropes in place; and he found 

290 



SAFE ACROSS THE SUTLEJ 

very soon that the lower rope, on which the feet had to 
rest, was in a bad state of repair. To drop from this frail 
and swinging structure would have been fatal, as in nearly 
every case the Himalaya river gorges are very deep and 
steep. He stepped out boldly, nevertheless, in spite of his 
invalid condition, and, after an agitating time of it, sway- 
ing through the air, reached the other bank in safety. 
Chota Khan, a heavy man, was in a terrible state of 
trepidation, almost sticking fast at the cross-bar. One 
of the ladies of the party — a buxom dame — afforded the 
rest much amusement, for Chota Khan ran to help her, 
thus doubling the risk. It was Wilson's first jhula 
bridge, and thankful he was to see every one and every- 
thing over safely. 

[From "The Abode of Snow." By Andrew Wilson. By kind 
permission of Messrs. Blackwood and Sons.] 



291 T 2 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT TARAWERA 

The lake district of New Zealand— The beautiful " White " and 
u Pink " terraces — Mount Tarawera — Thought to be extinct — 
Mr. Hazard, the Wairoa schoolmaster — The mother's birthday 
— Sudden outburst of the mountain in the night — ' ( You need 
not be frightened " — Showers of ashes and stones on the roof — 
A last family hymn — Pathetic scene — Roof burst in by mud — 
Eldest daughter saved by devotion of a native woman — Scraping 
mud away from the face to give air — Mother rescued with dead 
babe in her arms — Father and four children amongst the 
dead — Mr. Bainbridge, an English visitor, in a dangerous 
position — Maori woman runs to warn him — Woman swallowed 
up before his eyes — Immense showers of hot ashes— Mr. 
Bainbridge himself buried beneath — Outburst heard at Auck- 
land, one hundred miles distant — Newspapers, a few days later, 
tell of the extent of the disaster — The beautiful terraces gone — 
Lake Rotomahana now a nest of craters and geysers — A 
hundred people reported dead — A wide area of fertile country 
destroyed — The mountains covered with white powdery dust — 
Animals, domestic and wild, dying of thirst — Venturesome 
exploring parties — Huge piece blown out of the side of Tara- 
wera — Column of steam twelve thousand feet high — Stories of 
losses and of hairbreadth escapes — Two female native guides 
dead — Mr. Vogan's pluck — Extraordinary story of Tuhuto, a 
native soothsayer — His warnings to the neighbours — Buried for 
four days beneath the mud — Rescued alive by Mr. Vogan and 
his party. 

" The district around Lake Taupo," says Professor Bonney 
in his book on " Volcanoes," "is studded with cinder cones 

292 



WHITE AND PINK TERRACES 

and lava-flows, and between this sheet of water and the 
Bay of Plenty are the volcano of Tarawera and the hot 
springs of Rotomahana. The terraces of siliceous sinter 
formed by the latter were one of the wonders of New Zealand 
till 1886. On the 10th of June in that year the volcano, 
a flat- topped cone rising about a thousand feet above the 
lake of the same name, and supposed to be extinct, 
suddenly broke out, throwing up quantities of pumice 
mingled with steam to a height of nearly four miles. The 
whole country round, including these beautiful terraces, 
was buried beneath the fallen debris." 

The terraces lay at either end of the Rotomahana Lake. 
One of them was of dazzling white, the other was of a pink 
colour ; to them were consequently given the names 
" White Terrace " and " Pink Terrace." The beauty of 
these was in some ways unsurpassed in the world. It was 
a remarkable spot in a remarkable area, for the whole lake 
district of New Zealand North Island — a district measur- 
ing a hundred miles by thirty or so — was grand in 
the extreme, as, indeed, the greater part of it remains 
still. 

The nearest settlement to Tarawera and Rotomahana 
was Wairoa, a place possessing a school, a hotel, and some 
rough lodgings, for the place was much visited by tourists 
and holiday-makers from the large towns. The mountain 
was in no way feared by the population around, for no 
volcanic eruption had as yet taken place in New" Zealand 
since its settlement by Europeans. More than this, the 
Maoris asserted that for five hundred years the mountain 
had been perfectly quiet, and their tribal traditions ran 
back a long way. Earthquakes there had been, some not 

293 



SUDDEN OUTBURST OF TARAWERA 

so long before, but volcanic eruptions were unknown in the 
island. 

One of the first to feel the effects of the Tarawera out- 
burst was the house of Mr. Hazard, the Wairoa school- 
master, who, with his wife and family, was just retiring to 
rest when the disturbance began. It was a little later 
than usual when they all went to their rooms, it being the 
mother's birthday. The two eldest girls were nearly un- 
dressed when the earth tremors began. Soon the noise 
grew louder, and the two became frightened. They ran 
to the parents' room in alarm, and the father seems to have 
kept his nerve well. 

" You need not be frightened," he assured his daughters, 
in the quietest of tones. 

But the girls ran back and dressed with all speed. By 
this time the noise had become terrible, and the eruption 
of the mountain had begun in earnest. Showers of ashes 
fell upon the roof and all around. The family assembled 
and sang a hymn, the father and the children singing, the 
mother taking the harmonium. It was a pathetic scene, 
for the family was never to be united again in this world. 

The stones bombarded the roof incessantly, and in no 
long time it was partly broken in. Still the schoolmaster 
and his family remained under shelter for a time — where, 
indeed, could they go ? But half an hour later an 
enormous mud-shower fell, and this completed the destruc- 
tion of the school-house. In a moment parents and 
children were overwhelmed, but made desperate efforts to 
escape. The two eldest daughters kept more or less 
together, seeking to free themselves from the frightful 
mud torrent that now surged down irresistibly upon 

294 



BRAVERY OF A NATIVE WOMAN 

them. One of the girls managed to get clear; not so 
fortunate was her sister : she was buried in the mud, and 
but for timely assistance nobly rendered by a Maori woman 
she would have been lost. This devoted creature frantic- 
ally tore away with her hands the mud that was smother- 
ing the unhappy sufferer. Regardless of her own danger, 
she kept the girl's face clear, and succeeded in saving her 
from suffocation. 

Meanwhile father, mother, and the four other children 
were all overwhelmed by the mud and the tremendous 
showers of ashes. The neighbours who could rushed to 
their help, and a gallant attempt was made to find and 
extricate them. In no long time Mrs. Hazard was found, 
and with great difficulty saved. Her injuries were terrible, 
and in her arms she clasped her dead baby. The school- 
master and four of the youngest children were also dis- 
covered, but too late, for they were quite dead. 

All this time the volcanic activity went on upon an 
enormous scale. Showers of fine dust, white in colour for 
the most part, flew generally in the opposite direction to 
that taken by the mud- stream — carried by the wind, 
doubtless. This dust was deposited over a wide area, and 
formed a strange spectacle later on, when approach to the 
spot became possible. The flood of boiling water ejected 
from the craters — for by this time there were several — was 
truly prodigious ; of its effects a word may be said 
presently. As for the mud, the speed at which it 
travelled and the vastness of its volume were incredible. 
The whole district had long been noted for its hot springs, 
and it was said that if a stick were thrust into the earth at 
almost any point steam would come up out of the hole. 

295 



MR. BAINBMDGE A VICTIM 

This was before the eruption, so that it is not hard to 
guess where the enormous quantities of mud came from. 

Other houses in Wairoa, besides that of the unfortunate 
schoolmaster, were overwhelmed by the all-devouring sea 
of mud that welled around. One of these, belonging to a 
Maori guide, was saved from destruction by the fact that 
its roof was so steep. The mud-showers that fell on it did 
not rest there, but dropped to the ground. Thus, as the 
pile accumulated, the weight was borne chiefly by the 
earth and not by the roof. It has been mentioned that 
Wairoa also possessed a hotel. This building was one of 
those destroyed, and an English tourist who was staying 
there, a Mr. Bainbridge, met with a strange death. He 
was keenly interested in the outburst when it began, and 
went out to see the sight. He made his way to a little 
hill in the neighbourhood to view the eruption of the 
mountain, which was well seen from that point. He 
seems to have been quite oblivious of the danger. Not 
so a poor Maori woman. Seeing the man walking right 
into a death-trap, as she believed, the devoted woman 
made after him along the road to give him warning, and 
found him standing calmly watching the volcano. At 
that moment the ground opened beneath the poor woman's 
feet with not the smallest warning. With a piercing 
shriek and with arms helplessly uplifted, the poor creature 
disappeared. At the same instant the hot ashes began to 
rain down upon the spot, and the Englishman, now 
realizing the terrible position in which he stood, took to 
flight. He was too late, and his body was subsequently 
found near the ruined hotel. 

The city of Auckland is not far short of a hundred 

296 



ALARM AT AUCKLAND 

miles from Tarawera, but the noise of the eruption 
reached to that distance. It was about two in the morn- 
ing when the sounds began to be heard. The people of 
Auckland at first took them to be the signal guns of some 
ship in distress out at sea, but in the direction of the lake 
district flashes of fire were seen rising into the air. From 
a hill near the town still more was seen. Besides the fire, 
what appeared to be small pebbles were observed to be 
hurled aloft. It was afterwards found that these sup- 
posed pebbles were really stones of enormous size that had 
been thrown up with such violence. All the time in the 
city the windows rattled in their frames, and it was 
evident to the citizens that a catastrophe of the most 
tremendous kind was in progress. It was hoped that no 
destruction would come thereby to the magnificent Pink 
and White Terraces. Many of the citizens, full of curiosity, 
prepared to set off for the scenes of ruin and probably 
death. 

A few days later one of the New Zealand papers con- 
tained an account of the first visit of a correspondent to 
the fatal district. For miles before the actual spot was 
reached progress was impeded by the thick white dust 
which covered the ground everywhere. The sides of the 
mountains had apparently first been cleared of every scrap 
of vegetation by the floods of boiling water that had raced 
over them. After the flow of this had ceased the showers 
of dust had begun. When the correspondent had gained 
a point from which he could look down on the awful 
scene, it was a terrible sight that met his eyes. The 
beautiful lake Rotomahana was gone, and in its place were 
a whole collection of new craters, each one still venting its 

297 



THE TERRACES DESTROYED 

showers of ashes, stones, and smoke. From the heights 
above, all the new orifices could be seen hard at work — a 
strange and weird spectacle. As for the terraces, they 
were clean gone. The Pink Terrace had been overwhelmed 
and smothered in mud. The White Terrace could not be 
seen for the dense smoke and steam about it, but it was 
evident it, too, had been destroyed. One of the loveliest 
things this planet could show, the wonder and pride of 
New Zealand, had been wiped out of existence. 

Something like a rough estimate of the number of 
persons who had perished was by this time possible. Most 
of them belonged to the native Maori population, as might 
have been expected. The number of whites who had lost 
their lives did not exceed about half a dozen, so far as 
could be ascertained. Of the natives, nearly a hundred 
had been sacrificed. That the destruction of life was not 
far greater was due to the scanty population of the dis- 
trict, but it was easy to see that those who had perished 
had had no chance whatever of escaping. The outburst 
was so sudden and so overwhelming in its character that it 
was impossible for many of those on the spot to get clear 
away. 

The destruction of property and lands was on a much 
greater scale. A paragraph from the Lyttleton Times may 
be quoted : 

" The ruin by mud . . . embraces the whole strip of 
country between the shore of Lake Rotorua nearest to 
Tarawera and as far as Taheke at the one end, and about 
two miles beyond the Wairoa road at the other end. All 
the Bush within this area has been stripped of foliage, and 
may die ; but the undergrowth will probably break into 

298 



A SCENE OF DESOLATION 

leaf again, and become as luxuriant as ever. The loss 
from the destruction of the terraces — if, as we cannot but 
fear, they are gone — is simply incalculable. A marvel 
which was without parallel on the earth has been swept 
away, and even if ever replaced by the same agencies work- 
ing in siliceous strata (and this is improbable), a long 
geological period would be necessary for their reproduc- 
tion. The eruptions now in progress are attended by 
frequent earthquakes. Three were felt while we were in 
camp, and two during the four hours spent on the dust- 
hills around Rotomahana. One was of such violence that 
the swaying of the hill we were standing on was visible to 
the eye.'" 

Farther afield, too, the spectacle was a melancholy one. 
The roads and tracks had in many cases been quite 
blotted out by the rain of white dust as fine as flour. 
Lovely hill -slopes, till now green with foliage or with 
bright emerald ferns, were mere expanses of dust or of 
mud, too ugly to contemplate. Crops had been utterly 
destroyed, and acres upon acres of fertile field and garden 
had been rendered desert by the all-devouring mud. And 
it was not only the vegetable kingdom that had suffered : 
all the ponds and streams and springs had dried up or 
been overwhelmed, and the animals were likely to die in 
their thousands for want of water. The creatures of Bush 
and mountain-side were in a terrible plight. The wild 
pigs were "running about with hair torn off their backs 
by the pelting of volcanic mud. 1 '' Some horses were 
observed on a ledge of rock a thousand feet high ; they had 
scrambled up and fallen there in their endeavours to find 
water, and they were quite unable to get up or down again. 

299 



AN EXPLORING PARTY 

We may follow an exploring party that made its way 
to the Tarawera locality soon after the catastrophe. 
" Leaving the trap at the Rotokaha bridge, we placed 
our tents and heavy luggage on the back of a horse, and 
our guide proceeded to guess his way along the hill-side. 
This was ticklish work, as the track was completely 
obliterated with mud. The hill descends abruptly to the 
lake, so that a slip would have sent the horse and its 
burden headlong into the lake, a hundred feet below. . . . 
Here tents were pitched, a roaring fire was lit, and we 
made ourselves as comfortable as possible. The night 
passed with no further excitement than three slight 
earthquake shocks and the disturbing sounds of distant 
concussions, like the rattling of musketry, and the roar of 
the escaping steam. To discern whence these wild noises 
proceeded was to be our mission on the morrow, and 
having breakfasted, we set out on our uncertain and ad- 
venturous expedition. At every step our boots went 
ankle deep, and sometimes we sank to the knee. Four 
new craters, similar in character to the one first noticed, 
had broken into eruption. The largest of these volcanoes 
displayed great energy ; its side was torn out, and from 
several points of activity within the crater explosions 
occurred every few minutes, driving stones high into the 
air. Heavy masses of steam and black smoke directed 
the way unmistakably to the high hill overlooking 
Rotomahana, and pushing forward, we soon surmounted 
the last peak, and stood looking down upon the most 
extraordinary spectacle imagination can conceive." The 
whole extent of the lake was filled with belching craters 
or steaming geysers. The lake, if it had not disappeared 

300 



DR. HECTOR'S FIGURES 

altogether, had become merely a series of boiling caldrons. 
Dr. Hector, the Government Surveyor, who presently 
visited the scene, is more explicit, and gives certain 
remarkable figures. He says that the huge portion blown 
out of the side of Tarawera measured fully two thousand 
feet in length by five hundred feet in average width, 
whilst the depth of this appalling chasm varied between 
two hundred and five hundred feet. There was no lava, 
but the discharges of mud, stones, steam, ashes, and dust 
were enormous, and continued for days. The pillar of 
steam that crowned the mountain he estimates as being 
twelve thousand feet high. This portentous column could 
be clearly seen at a distance of a hundred and fifty miles 
from the hills in Taranaki. 

Many were the stories of hairbreadth escapes, of pitiful 
losses, of notable heroisms that were told by the survivors. 
Amongst the natives killed were two female Maori guides 
to the locality and its wonders. They were known as 
Kate and Sophie, and are mentioned by the distinguished 
historian Froude in his "Oceana." The only other 
English family to suffer death by the eruption, besides 
the Hazards and Mr. Bainbridge, already spoken of, lived 
on the other side of the mountain, at Mount Edgecumbe. 

One of the earliest and pluckiest of the outsiders who 
came to the rescue was Mr. Vogan, the newspaper repre- 
sentative, whose words have been quoted above. With 
him went Messrs. Douglas and Robertson. An attempt 
was made to penetrate into the very heart of the area, 
where most human beings had been overwhelmed. The 
difficulties and dangers became too great for the rest of 
the party, but Mr. Vogan continued on his way. He was 

301 



BURIED ALIVE 

one of those who helped to find and dig out a man whose 
story was extraordinary, a Maori named Tuhuto, who 
professed to be a wise man, or soothsayer. A little while 
before the outbreak of the eruption this man had 
quarrelled with his neighbours, and had made a prediction 
that the mountain was about to burst forth into fire, and 
that the people of the district would be destroyed. What 
the neighbours must have thought w T hen the eruption did 
begin it is not hard to guess. Anyhow, Tuhuto, though 
a necromancer, was unable to save himself from the fate 
of which he had warned others, and he was one of those 
buried under the mud torrents and showers. At the end 
of four days Mr. Vogan and other rescuers came upon his 
cabin, and there, buried beneath its ruins, was the sooth- 
sayer himself. He was alive still, wonderful to relate. 
His escape, after all he had gone through and after so 
long an entombment, was the most marvellous of all those 
recorded in connection with the disastrous outburst of 
Tarawera. 



302 



CHAPTER XXVI 

AN ASCENT OF ACONCAGUA 

Sir Martin Conway, a distinguished mountaineer, goes to attack 
Aconcagua in the Andes — The Baths of Inca — The Horcones 
Valley — Base camp made there — Reconnoitring hy the two 
Swiss guides — Start in the morning — Easy zigzag path at 
first — The glare of the sun — Violent headaches — Tents pitched 
on a shelf — Miserable afternoon — Start again at six next 
morning — A porter ill — Left behind — Loose stuff and a toilsome 
climb — Supposed camp of Fitzgerald reached — Bivouac for the 
night — The guide Pellissier ill — Whooping-cough for all — A 
grand sunset — A very early start next day — Climbing with a 
lantern — Cold intense — A view of the summit rocks in the 
distance — Hours of terrible toil — Breathing now excessively 
difficult — Twenty-one thousand feet — Pellissier forced to return 
— Master and the other guide, Maquignaz, go on alone — A little 
food in a gully — A gallant push on — " Argentina at our feet V 
— Still another ridge — A knife-edge — A drop of two miles on 
one side — The victory gained — Twenty-three thousand one 
hundred feet — Hasty gaze around — Then the descent — The 
screes looser than ever — Tent reached — Pellissier in a most 
serious state — Descent at once continued — Sick porter picked 
up — Baggage pitched headlong down a gully — Base camp 
reached at last — Food and a cordial from the Baths — A night in 
a warm tent — Mules arrive — Start for the Baths of Inca — A big 
gale raging on the top of the mountain — Only just in time — 
Exciting crossing of a torrent — A second stream crossed by a 
snow arch — Back at the Baths, after an absence of five and a 
half days — Surprise of everybody — Congratulations — Ultimate 
recovery of Pellissier. 

Few equals, and no superior, in mountaineering has our 
generation seen to Sir Martin Conway, the well-known 

303 



A DISTINGUISHED MOUNTAINEER 

Slade Professor of Fine Art in the University of Cambridge. 
This veteran climber has attacked most of the big mountain 
ranges of the globe — Alps, Himalayas, Karakorams, Andes 
— to say nothing of his exploits in Spitzbergen and other 
districts. Not least among his notable achievements stands 
that of ascending Aconcagua, the well-known Andean peak 
rearing itself to the stupendous height of more than 
twenty-three thousand feet. His adventures on the occa- 
sion, and the brilliant triumph with which they were 
accompanied, make a story of no ordinary interest. 

The mountain in question is best approached by the 
Horcones Valley, a wide defile running at right angles 
to the main pass over the Andes. He was fortunate 
enough to find an excellent base, or headquarters, for his 
operations at the Baths of Inca, an establishment kept by 
an enterprising British gentleman, Dr. Cotton. To this 
place Sir Martin made his way, accompanied by two 
famous Swiss guides, Maquignaz and Pellissier. These 
worthy fellows were getting stale, however, and very 
homesick, while the explorer himself was fresh and most 
eager for the attack on the barely conquered peak. 
While Sir Martin surveyed the enormous mountain mass 
from below, and endeavoured to gain some notion of 
its architecture, his men made an ascent to the camp 
of Mr. Fitzgerald, who had made a gallant attack at an 
earlier date, and whose guide had actually reached the 
summit. The guides returned with the news that they 
had found the spot, that it was situated at an elevation 
of sixteen thousand feet, and that the way to it was easy. 
The main difficulty would be found to be the rarefied air 
they would have to breathe for a considerable time. They 

304 



EARLY MORNING START 

all watched the superb sunset that followed, eagerly 
anticipating the morrow's start. " The red of sunset, 11 
Sir Martin finely says, " beautifies every mountain, but 
when it falls on cliffs of a rich individual tint, such as the 
Dolomites, or the beautiful limestone peaks of central 
Spitzbergen, or these volcanic crags, the glow that pours 
from them can be suggested by no pigment in the world. 
It is like the live core of a volcano." 

At half-past six on the morning of December 5, 1898, 
the party of five made their actual start from the base 
camp. Besides the Swiss guides there were two porters, 
one of them, named Anacleto, a most active and enthu- 
siastic fellow. The sun was still hidden behind the 
mountains, and the climbers were glad to keep up a 
good pace in the chill air. For a time the way was 
quite easy, up a zigzag path, and the party made good 
headway, only halting for a time to indulge in a sacrifice 
of tobacco to the God of Day, whose beams now began 
to show themselves. Then on, up a hard snow slope, 
where a little step-cutting had to be done. But though 
the ascent was thus far easy enough, the climbers soon 
began to suffer from the terrible glare of the scorching 
sun. The sun, indeed, presently proved too much for 
them : every man suffered from violent headache ; and 
when, about noon, a halt was made on a little platform 
that had been reached, the labour of setting up the 
three tents was troublesome to a degree, and tried the 
temper of everybody except Anacleto. The second porter 
was already done up, and broke down altogether. 

Into their tents the men crept for shelter from the 
terrible sun, but in vain : the canvas brought no relief, 

305 U 



VARYING TEMPERATURE 

and a miserable afternoon was spent, Sir Martin himself 
able to do nothing save watch the clouds in silent 
wretchedness. The view from the spot was surpassingly 
grand, but no one had an eye for it ; they were far too 
prostrate for that. At last, after what seemed a day 
of interminable length, the sun fell behind the mountains, 
the air became cool again, and the throbbing heads were 
relieved. Happy, the climbers came out of their tents, 
till, after a short half-hour, the cold drove them in again. 
A supper of soup and biscuits and chocolate preluded the 
creeping into the fur bags for the night. 

After a cool but not distressing night, Sir Martin 
was aroused at six and given a bowl of hot soup. The 
temperature was at that hour fourteen degrees Fahrenheit ; 
it had not been below six degrees all the night. Unluckily, 
the second porter was by this time too ill to proceed, and 
he had to be left behind with one of the tents. A start 
was made at seven, cold blasts blowing. As the party 
was now one man short, each of the remainder had a 
bigger share of the burdens to carry. Food for three days 
was taken, together with the sleeping-bags, the oil-stove, 
and other things. The climb was heavy from the outset 
— up a slope of loose stones. Every five minutes it was 
absolutely necessary to stop to draw breath. The giving 
way of the footsteps was an even more trying thing, 
bringing temporary giddiness to the head at each slip. 
The Professor believes that at high levels nothing more 
toilsome can be met with by a climber than such slopes 
of screes as those of Aconcagua. The upward progress 
on that occasion was, he declares, " absolute floundering." 
With the slipping back, each man was called upon to do 

306 



A TOILSOME CLIMB 

the equivalent of fifteen hundred feet for every thousand 
feet of height he climbed. Anacleto was by far the best 
man at the work, being in capital condition and accus- 
tomed to these screes. 

How long this slope of loose stuff went on the party 
hardly knew : it seemed almost interminable ; and when 
another rock shelf was reached, at the head of a deep 
gully, the situation did not improve. From that point 
right away up to the base of the very summit peak the 
slope of loose debris could be seen running on. Up still 
higher the four mounted, and at length they came to a 
place they took to be that used by Fitzgerald for a camp- 
ing-ground on his ascent. The stones seemed as if they 
had been arranged by human hands, and an old rag was 
seen caught in a chink. The party accordingly pitched 
their tents. Anacleto was given permission to return to 
the man in the lower tent, there to await the coming of 
the others from the mountain-top next day. The lively 
fellow, instead of at once descending, began in his 
exuberance of spirits to climb still higher. Presently 
he returned, telling his comrades that he had found 
Fitzgerald's camp not far away. But the tents were 
pitched, and Sir Martin would not move. Pellissier, more- 
over, was suffering from some unusual form of mountain 
sickness. So the party decided to stay where they were, 
at an elevation of about eighteen thousand five hundred 
feet. 

A cold wind kept the air cool, and the sun was not 
so injurious as on the previous day, and, moreover, the 
glare was warded off by rigging the sleeping-bags over- 
head. But the whooping-cough, from which all had 

307 u 2 



THE PACIFIC IN VIEW 

been suffering, grew worse, from the necessity of breathing 
through the mouth : the nostrils could not admit enough 
air for them at such an elevation. During the afternoon 
there was a little fall of snow and some thunder, but the 
evening proved magnificent. Away in the west a wide 
stretch of the Pacific was clearly visible. Sir Martin 
looked for the reflection of the light from its surface, but 
there was none, strange to say. For three days the 
climbers had the Pacific in view, but not once was its 
surface anything but the hue of lead. Only along the 
horizon line was there any colour, and there ran, as it 
were, a band of fire, " as if a forest were in flames along 
the margin of the world. 1 ' But at sunset the thermometer 
registered fourteen degrees of frost, and the mountaineers 
were glad to creep into their sleeping-bags — the more so 
as it was their intention to be up and off again at the 
early hour of two in the morning. 

The actual start next day was made at half-past three, 
and, as it fell out, it is to the fact that the start was thus 
early that Pellissier owed his life. The great question 
was that of keeping the feet warm. No ordinary foot- 
gear can keep out the cold at that elevation. Sir Martin 
himself had on three or four pairs of thick stockings, his 
boots built specially to accommodate them. The tem- 
perature was five degrees at the start, but it fell per- 
ceptibly as higher ground was reached. For an hour or 
more the way was picked out by the aid of a lantern. By 
daylight the climbers came in sight of the foot of the 
final gullies. The Professor estimated that those rocks 
would be reached in an hour, but he said three hours to 
his men. When three hours of hard work had passed, 

308 



DIFFICULT RESPIRATION 

however, the rocks seemed no nearer. The toil the men 
underwent along this slope it would be impossible to 
exaggerate ; " only once did a small patch of snow give 
momentary relief. ,1 It had become quite clear, moreover, 
that Pellissier was unable to continue. He suffered from 
indigestion and internal pains. Yet the worthy fellow 
was game ; nothing would induce him to go back. But 
he got more and more behind, and many a halt had to be 
made till he came up. 

All the three men suffered from the difficulty of breath- 
ing, and after every slip they had to lie panting on the 
ground for a space, as wounded men might do. It was 
hard to keep the lungs satisfied at all with the thin air. 
It was impossible to let the arms rest against the sides 
even, as it was necessary to allow the chest full room for 
expansion. The pain suffered in the hands was fearful, 
every finger shooting like violent toothache. Yet the 
Englishman had on gloves that had been found quite 
warm enough " for the coldest weather of the long Arctic 
night " ; but at an elevation of over twenty-one thousand 
feet, the height to which the climbers had now attained, 
the gloves seemed absolutely useless. It was, of course, 
not the fault of the gloves themselves, but the impaired 
circulation of the wearers. 

The sunrise was a grand sight, although, as the climbers 
stood in the shade of the mountain, they did not see the 
view to the east ; but, far out on the ocean, they could 
discern the shadow of Aconcagua's summit. As the sun 
rose in the heavens the dark line receded across the ocean, 
touched the land, traversed the intervening country, 
hastened up the Horcones Valley, till it reached the 

309 



GUIDE FORCED TO RETURN 

gazers. " Then, as we raised our eyes to the crags aloft, 
lo ! the blinding fires of the Sun God himself burning 
upon the crest and bringing to us the fulness of day !" 

It was seven o'clock when Pellissier with a sad heart 
declared that he could go no further ; so his comrade 
Maquignaz took his burden, and the sick man began his 
lonely descent, on his way back to the tent below. Little 
did Sir Martin realize the danger really awaiting the 
guide, and he felt quite sure that Pellissier was capable 
of making the descent unaided. Of ordinary mountain 
perils there are indeed none on Aconcagua : not once was 
it necessary to be roped; it was simply a question of 
strength and endurance. Sir Martin had climbed, in 
1892, the Pioneer Peak of the Karakorams, almost as 
high, but there the task was very different from that 
entailed by Aconcagua. 

Of the five men who had started the climb, therefore, 
but two now remained, the Englishman and the Swiss 
guide Maquignaz. Keeping pretty near together, the 
couple trudged on, in silence as a rule, except when they 
said a word of sympathy to each other. It seemed as if 
the foot of the final rocks would never be reached. " We 
shall never get there," Maquignaz was at last forced to cry 
— "never, never, never !" To this Sir Martin replied with 
words of encouragement. An hour or two passed, and 
more than one gully was ascended. The debris became at 
length so loose, the feet sinking as if into sand, that the 
men had to get upon the rock itself. Presently came 
another gully, in the side of which was a sort of little 
cave, and here a halt was made and some food was eaten. 
From this spot the Professor took a photograph, but 

310 



A GALLANT PUSH ON 

afterwards spoiled his negative by making a second ex- 
posure on the same film — a proof, he says, of the confused 
state of his head at that elevation. 

The cold had by this time become fearful, while the 
difficulty of breathing was a continual agony. It was 
only by the extremest toil that each additional inch was 
gained. Happily, however, the final ridge of the moun- 
tain was at hand, and the men were heartened to continue 
their tremendous struggle. So, leaving everything on the 
ground, except the little camera, they pushed on. " At 
last I heard a shout, looked up, and saw Maquignaz a yard 
or two above my head, standing on the crest of the bed of 
snow that crowned the arete. In a moment I was beside 
him, and Argentina lay at our feet !" 

The victory was practically won, but there was still a 
last bit to be done before the adventurous pair could say 
they had stood on the very highest point of Aconcagua. 
A long fine edge reached out for more than a mile to the 
final summit. It ascended not more than sixty feet or so 
in the distance, but to make progress along it was no easy 
matter and not very safe. On the one side the ridge fell 
away sharply for three hundred feet, while on the other 
there was a continuous slope of two miles to the glacier 
far, far below ! The pair attached themselves to the rope, 
as a justifiable precaution, though not from absolute 
necessity, and proceeded to balance themselves as best 
they could on the narrow knife-edge, a stiff wind blowing 
all the time. A little step-cutting was required, but 
fortunately not much, seeing that the elevation was one 
of over twenty-three thousand feet. One or two little 
humps came in the course of the walk, but at last the firm 

311 



VICTORY 

rock was reached, and then a hundred yards or so of 
scramble over debris placed them on the topmost point , 
of the mountain. It was a splendid achievement, the 
result of sheer pluck and endurance, and the men well 
deserved their triumph. 

In spite of the excessive cold, the Professor took several 
photographs, spoiling two or three, however, in his forget- 
fulness and numbness of the senses ; then, as it was evident 
the increasing wind would soon make the ridge im- 
practicable, the two set off on their long descent. The 
view from the summit had been more or less restricted, 
on account of the clouds in the air. " So, after just one 
more sweeping gaze around the vast panorama, I turned 
and made haste to retrace our steps."' 1 

The ridge was crossed safely, the gully reached where 
they had left their food and one or two articles, and the 
pair soon found themselves on the loose screes once more. 
Looser than ever seemed the stones; not only did the 
feet plunge deep at every step, but often set moving a 
whole patch of the scree. Sir Martin had never seen 
screes in such an unstable condition. The men began to 
be afraid at length that they would start an avalanche 
of the loose stuff, and become engulfed in it. It was a 
relief to see the tents down below, though as yet they 
looked mere specks. But through the glass the two could 
make out Pellissier. He was moving about, and so they 
took it he was well, and was preparing soup for their 
return. 

At the end of two hours and forty minutes from the 
top, the successful pair reached the tents, shouting their 
good luck to the sick guide. " I am glad you got up," 

312 



SERIOUS STATE OF GUIDE 

returned Pellissier. " I wish I had been with you ; it's a 
bitter disappointment to come so far and then have to 
turn back." But Sir Martin soon found, to his great 
grief, that things had not gone well with the man. His 
feet were very badly frost-bitten. When Pellissier had 
reached the tent and had pulled off his boots and stock- 
ings, he had been horrified to find that both his feet were 
black from the instep to the toes. That he would lose 
all his toes the poor fellow had never doubted, a calamity 
to any man, and absolute ruin to a poor man whose living 
depended on his power to climb mountains. For five 
I mortal hours Pellissier had rubbed hard at his toes with 
snow, only pausing to take breath. Gradually life had 
begun to return to the frost-bitten limbs, and the pain 
was awful. Then Anacleto had come, and had rubbed 
for another hour, while the injured man attended to the 
soup-making. The worst had been got over, perhaps, 
but there were still three toes on each foot black, and it 
was doubtful whether they would ever recover. It was a 
bad case at the best. 

The condition of things called for an immediate return 
to the hotel and medical aid, and the leader determined 
not to stay the night at the camp, for by morning it 
would be impossible for Pellissier to get on his boots at 
all ; so the hot soup was eaten, and a start made at once. 
In forty minutes the four had reached the lower tent, 
where the second porter was found fast asleep. He was 
roused, given his share of things to carry, and taken along 
with the least possible delay. The whooping-coughs of 
the party made the way quite noisy, but the headaches 
grew more tolerable at every step downwards. Down one 

313 



BASE CAMP REACHED 

gully bundles of baggage were shot unceremoniously. < 
The lively Anacleto made his master sit on the roll of 
sleeping-bags; then, attaching a cord to the roll and to 
his belt, set off at full speed down the snow slope. Of 
course the rider was often pitched off, and when this ■ 
occurred and the snow drifted into his neck and up his f 
sleeves, the porter's delight knew no bounds. 

It was six o'clock in the evening, or less than six hours 
since the two had left the summit, when the base camp 
was reached. They had descended ten thousand feet in 
the six hours. Pellissier was at once put to bed. To the j> 
delight of the party, a servant arrived with a mule, bring- 
ing a load of provisions, and, better than all, a bottle of 
cordial from Dr. Cotton. The drink was shared equally, ! ! 
and nothing could have come in more usefully, for the f 
mixture exactly suited the complaint from which every 
man was suffering. A cheerful night was spent in the 
big comfortable tent, which was warm, though at the 
very considerable elevation of thirteen thousand feet f 
above sea-level. Even Pellissier, in spite of his sufferings f 
and apprehensions, was in good spirits. | J 

It was in the full glare of the sunshine that the party j 
awoke next morning, but a glance up at the mountain | : 
showed that there had come a great change in the f 
weather. A tremendous gale was seen to be in full blast 
on the top of Aconcagua. The summit rocks "looked 
like the teeth of an enormous comb carding a gigantic 
fleece of wool." Had the mountaineers been still up there, 
their fate would have been sealed, and they congratulated 
themselves that they had come down in time. As it 
proved, the next twelve days were all stormy. Had the 

314 



DESCENT CONTINUED 

Professor not been able to seize the opportunity when he 
did, he would have missed the ascent of Aconcagua 
altogether — at least, for that year — the time at his dis- 
posal having run out. Says he: "Such good luck at a 
critical moment makes amends for a pile of photographic 
misfortunes." 

By noon the mules arrived, the tents were packed up, 
and a departure was made. For a long distance the 
animals floundered through the soft stuff of the moraines ; 
now and then they had to be unloaded and dug out. 
Seen from the opposite point of view from that on the 
ascent, the landscapes assumed quite different aspects. 
With his instructed eye Sir Martin saw splendours almost 
everywhere. The view of the neighbouring Almacenes 
peak particularly impressed him. " Supported by bold 
buttresses, finely grouped, and crowned above with its 
glorious cliff, striped in countless beds of many colours, 
it rises beyond the dark moraine chaos at its foot — a 
splendid subject for a painter.' 1 At last the grass slopes 
were gained, and there Anacleto wanted to pitch the 
camp for the night. He declared the torrent would be so 
swollen that it would be impossible to cross it. But the 
Englishman was very desirous of pressing on, and he rode 
ahead with Anacleto to look at the stream. 

The man was not far wrong : the torrent was in full roar, 
and the crossing would not be easy. However, the men and 
their mules plunged in. It was a touch-and-go affair, but 
luckily the first couple got across all right. When the 
others came up, a lasso was thrown over and held tightly 
as an assistance. The first man got over safely, but the 
next two were swept off. It required the united strength 

315 



BACK AT THE BATHS 

of the three to prevent their companions from being 
carried away to destruction. Sir Martin declares that he 
never had a more exciting experience. So far well ; but l f 
there was another torrent yet to be managed. To the 
delight of the party, there was a natural arch of snow 
bridging the rushing stream, and by this they crossed, 
even Pellissier preferring to dismount and walk to risking 
the ford. The animals were driven across safely. From 
that spot to the Baths of Inca was an easy ride, and 
everybody was in high spirits. There was, it is true, a 
good deal of doubt as to the ultimate fate of the injured 
guide. He could not now wear boots at all, but sat 
on his mule, his feet wrapped in rags tied on with 
string. 

" I am sorry to see you back so soon," were the first 
words of Dr. Cotton, as he greeted the return of the 
travellers, " but I suppose you concluded that the weather 
was broken." 

To this Sir Martin Conway answered cheerfully : 

"Not at all. We have come back because we have 
accomplished the ascent." 

The good doctor could scarce believe his ears. The 
party had been away from his house for only five days and 
a half, and it seemed incredible that they should have 
really been to the very top of the stupendous mountain. 

Of course, the news soon flew through the hotel, and 
many were the congratulations the mountaineering party 
received. Telegrams were sent to Valparaiso, and many 
messages of further congratulation came in -later on. 

" The evening that followed was a happy one ; not till 
the small hours did we retire to rest." 

316 



RECOVERY OF PELLISSIER 

Every reader will rejoice to learn that the gallant but 
unfortunate Pellissier, after a tedious time of it, in the end 
made a complete recovery, hardly less to his employer's 
delight than to his own. 

* [From {t Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego," by Sir Martin 
Conway. Cassell and Co., 1902. The compiler desires to offer his 
grateful thanks to the author and the publishers for their kind 
permission accorded.] 



317 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE ERUPTION OF MONT PELEE 

A startling telegram— West Indian town of St. Pierre totally 
destroyed by a volcanic eruption — Martinique and its history — 
Mont Pel£e its highest peak — The mountains all volcanic, hut 
supposed to be now extinct — The town of St. Pierre, five miles 
away — Further news of eruption — A sugar factory destroyed — 
The French captain and his report — "A rain of fire" — St. 
Pierre overwhelmed by mud, hot ashes, lava — Destruction 
of vessels in the harbour — Volcano on neighbouring island of 
St. Vincent follows suit — Thirty survivors from Martinique 
taken off by the Suchet— Terrible experiences of the Boddam 
steamship — Full story of the catastrophe gradually learnt — 
First, a stream of boiling mud from the crater — In three 
minutes travels five miles to the sea — A big wave — Frightful 
avalanche of fire upon St Pierre — Its awful suddenness — No 
time for escape — Storm of thunder and lightning next day — 
Mud, steam, ashes, lava — Fissures opened everywhere — Large 
new crater formed near the sea — Alarm at Fort de France, the 
capital — St. Vincent now in most violent eruption — Seven 
different craters seen in Martinique — Five thousand homeless 
and terror-stricken people up-country — Relief measures — The 
town at last entered — Hardly a bit of woven fabric left in the place 
— Houses nearly all fallen — Looters caught — Islanders disposed 
to lynch them — Mont Pel£e now less active — Two men go to 
mountain to explore a fortnight after — A difficult and dangerous 
business — Crater three hundred yards across — Peak above 
crumbling and ready to fall into abyss— Showers of ashes, 
stones, sulphur — A hasty retreat — Narrow escape of one of the 
explorers — Parallel between St. Pierre in 1902 and Pompeii in 
1879. 

The newspapers of May 9, 1902, contained a telegram 
from the West Indies, stating that the town of St. Pierre, 

318 



MARTINIQUE 

in the island of Martinique, had been destroyed by a 
volcanic eruption. A sufficiently startling announcement 
from the first it was, but it was not till later on that the 
appalling magnitude of the catastrophe was realized by the 
world at large. 

Martinique was one of the earliest settled of the French 
West Indian possessions, and towns and villages were 
beginning to spring up as far back as the seventeenth 
century. The area of the island is nearly three hundred 
square miles; its extreme length is about ninety miles, 
with an average breadth of twenty miles. The whole 
island is more or less filled with mountain masses, many of 
the hills bold and some rugged in character. From the 
very shore the ground begins to rise into miniature 
heights, and farther back these increase in elevation, till 
at last the mountains culminate in the peak of Mont 
Pelee, the loftiest of the range, which runs up to a height 
of between four and five thousand feet above the sea. The 
Pi tons of Carbet are about four thousand feet high. 
These mountains are all of volcanic character, but there 
had been no eruption of any of them within historic 
memory save a small one to be mentioned presently. 

The largest and the chief commercially of the Mar- 
tinique towns was St. Pierre, though it was not the official 
capital. In 1902 it contained twenty thousand inhabi- 
tants, or, including the picturesque and populous suburbs, 
thirty-six thousand. It possessed a harbour, and there 
was a good deal of trade done at the port. The country 
around is delightful for the most part, and the vicinity 
was dotted with residences, which on their terraces pre- 
sented a pretty sight from the sea. 

319 



ERUPTION OF MONT PELEE 

The people of St. Pierre were in no way disturbed by t 
the near neighbourhood of Mont Pelee, and they laughed 
at the notion of any danger coming from the peak. It 
was an extinct volcano, they said. And so the folks of 
the quaint, pleasure-loving little city were quite easy in 
their minds, so far as their volcano went. What a terrible 
awakening they were to receive they little guessed. 

A startling message from the Governor of Martinique 
to Paris followed quickly on the heels of the first telegram. 
He announced that the eruption of Mont Pele'e still con- 
tinued, and had already done great damage. An enormous 
stream of boiling mud had rapidly made its way towards 
the city, and had overwhelmed a large sugar factory. 
Three-and-twenty people were missing. Eruptions were 
going on in other parts of the West Indies, and the area 
affected was a wide one. After that message there was 
silence for a short time. 

The next news of any importance and definiteness came 
from Captain le Bris, of the French cruiser Suchet, and he 
reported that he had been in the neighbourhood of the har- 
bour of St. Pierre, that the town had been engulfed by a 
torrent of mud, and had been overwhelmed by a " rain of 
fire." The captain had brought away thirty survivors whom 
he found ; the remainder of the inhabitants were believed to 
have perished. The atmosphere was black with dust, and it 
was impossible to see anything of the place. A terrible 
scene had been witnessed in the harbour. Many, if not 
all, of the vessels there had been overwhelmed by the fire. 
The Roraima steamer had been burnt ; an explosion had 
followed, and every soul on board had perished. The 
Roddam, another vessel, had fared almost as badly, having 

320 



FURTHER NEWS OF ERUPTION 

lost seventeen men of its crew. Thus alarming were the 
early reports from the ill-fated neighbourhood of Mont 
Pelee. 

When the history of the Martinique volcano came to be 
inquired into, it appeared that up to the year 1851 the 
islanders had believed it to be extinct, though the whole 
district was well known to be volcanic, and many earth- 
quakes had occurred from time to time. In the year 1848, 
for instance, no fewer than two hundred shocks were felt 
in the island in the course of a single twelvemonth. In 
the year 1851, however, a slight eruption took place from 
the Mont Pelee crater, but the incident was regarded as 
one of little importance, and, indeed, as the last nicker of 
a dying volcano. After that the people of Martinique 
ceased to be in the least apprehensive about it. 

The world was still more amazed when a volcano on the 
neighbouring island of St. Vincent, which had shown signs 
of uneasiness for several days, suddenly broke out into 
violent convulsions, in sympathy, the scientific people 
said, with Mont Pelee. A British steamer, the Ocean 
Traveller, reported that it had been impossible to make 
a landing on St. Vincent on account of the tremendous 
£ain of sand that darkened the air for miles around. 
Terror began to spread to the other West Indian islands. 

The escape of the Roddam from the harbour of St. 
Pierre has been mentioned. This vessel reached the 
island of St. Lucia after a miraculous escape, but so 
damaged that it hardly bore any likeness to its former 
self. The captain was badly burnt, the injuries covering 
almost his whole body. With him was the shipping 
agent, who almost alone of those on board had escaped 

321 x 



SURVIVORS' TALE OF TERROR 

injury. The captain supplied further information as to 
the appalling visitation on St. Pierre. "He saw a tre- 
mendous cloud of smoke, glowing with live cinders, 
rushing with terrific rapidity over the town and port. 
The former in an instant was completely enveloped in 
a sheet of flame, which rained fire on board the steamer. 
The agent had just time to climb on board when his boat 
disappeared. Several men of the Roddarrfs crew were i 
quickly scorched to death. By almost superhuman efforts 
the cable was slipped, and, steam being still up, the vessel 
backed out from the shore, and arrived at St. Lucia in 
nine hours. Ten of the RoddarrCs crew were lying dead, 
having been burnt out of all human semblance, among 
the black ashes which covered the deck to a depth of six ! 
inches. Two more subsequently died. The burning 
cinders continued to fall on the ship for six miles after 
she was under way." 

Fuller reports from the captain of the French cruiser 
Suchet next came to hand. The few survivors, too, began 
to tell the tale of terror. Reduced to something like a 
connected story, the account ran pretty much as follows : 
The mountain had burst into eruption with extraordinary 
suddenness. A huge stream of boiling mud had rushed 
over the lip of the crater and down into the valley below. 
In a moment this was running as a wide river, some three 
hundred yards broad, travelling with inconceivable rapidity 
towards the sea, five miles away. In its mad course the 
boiling mud overwhelmed a sugar factory, and one hundred 
and fifty persons perished instantly. In three minutes all 
was over. In that short space of time the mud had worked 
its destruction on a part of the town, and had reached the 

322 




Stereo copyright Underwood & U. London &■ Xew York 

A Terrible Volcanic Explosion, Mont Pelee 



DESTRUCTION OF VESSELS 

sea. On striking the waves it drove back the waters for a 
hundred yards, and the huge returning wave swamped the 
lower portion of the shore side of St. Pierre. 

But this was far from being all. The mountain ex- 
ploded with deafening detonations, like the sound of a 
battery of great guns. Then glowing ashes, dust, and 
sand shot forth with prodigious force, and travelled in 
all directions. This frightful pall of ashes and fire fell 
upon the doomed town in a few minutes, coming, indeed, 
with a suddenness that left not the least opportunity of 
escape. A vast sea of glowing ashes poured down on the 
place like a monstrous cataract of fire, while clouds of 
steam thickened the air. Eighteen vessels in the harbour 
sank in a moment, and others were damaged, as we have 
seen. What actually took place in the town itself be- 
neath that terrific rain of fire none could say, for not 
a soul escaped of those who were in the thick of it. A 
man of the Suchefs crew, however, ventured ashore a 
little way, groping about as best he could. He reported 
that the streets were paved with dead ; that every body 
was quite naked ; that most of the houses had fallen ; 
and that he saw not one person alive. 

On the following day there was a storm of thunder 
and lightning of the most terrific character, the mountain 
still pouring forth its mud, its steam, its lava, and ashes 
the while. Then at night there was a wonderful display 
of the aurora borealis. Shocks of earthquake were felt 
in many places in Martinique and the surrounding area. 
Fissures opened everywhere, each pouring out its volumes 
of steam and smoke. One of the largest of these fissures 
was formed quite close to the sea, at a distance of fully 

323 x 2 



ST. VINCENT IN ERUPTION 

five miles from the mountain itself and its crater. The 
combination of eruption, storm, and earthquake was an 
appalling one, the like of which, happily, does not often 
visit our planet. 

Meanwhile the inhabitants of Fort de France, the 
official capital of Martinique, were becoming seriously 
alarmed, although it was at a considerable distance from 
the burning mountain. There, too, the sky grew dark, 
the sea receded to a distance of sixty to ninety feet, for 
a quarter of an hour there fell on the town a hail of 
stones as large as walnuts, and fissures kept opening in 
the ground every moment. The neighbouring island of 
St. Vincent was suffering even more terribly from its own 
volcano. " The mountain had been in eruption for nine 
consecutive mornings ; the thunder and lightning were so 
terrible that soon the din increased to a continuous roar. 
Vast columns of smoke rose over the mountain, becoming 
denser and denser. Scoria-like hail, changing later into 
a fine dust, fell upon all the estates in the vicinity of the 
mountain, destroying a vast amount of property. ,, As 
in Martinique, so in St. Vincent, earthquakes accom- 
panied the eruptions, and crevasses opened in various 
places. 

The great fissure near the sea in Martinique presently 
became a veritable crater, belching out smoke, steam, and 
ashes. Though no one had been able as yet to explore 
the country, no fewer than seven different craters could 
now be seen in different parts. Great streams of lava 
made their way across the face of the land and to the 
sea, reducing the whole area over which they travelled to 

324 



RELIEF MEASURES 

a desolation. All this time the outlying country was full 
of affrighted folk who had escaped destruction. Few of 
these were from St. Pierre itself, for scarcely a soul sur- 
vived there. The fugitives were mostly people from the 
country villages and the outlying hamlets and farms. It 
was calculated that there were some five thousand alto- 
gether. Many of them made for Fort de France to seek 
shelter and food. 

Of course, relief measures were taken by the authorities 
of the neighbouring districts. The French Government 
promptly voted a large sum of money, and subscriptions 
flowed in from nearly every civilized country, the United 
States and Great Britain taking, perhaps, the leading part 
in the good work. As the town of St. Pierre became 
accessible, it was visited by large numbers of people, and 
an organized system of operations was set on foot. It was 
found to be impossible to bury the bodies, and it was 
decided to cremate all those found in the streets. The 
full tale of destruction was made clear as the work 
proceeded. Almost every particle of textile material in 
the place was found burnt to a cinder. In the hospital 
the iron bedsteads were twisted out of shape, showing the 
intensity of the heat. The buildings were in nearly every 
case thrown down, or seriously damaged. A vigilance 
committee was organized to protect the property in the 
town, for even at such a time several looters were carrying 
on their disgusting operations. More than one man was 
found prowling among the heaps of the dead, his pockets 
stuffed full of gold. A gang of these wretches was seized 
and carried to Fort de France. So great was the public 

325 



EXPLORING MONT PELEE 

indignation there, that the authorities had a good deal 
of trouble to prevent the citizens from lynching the 
marauders on the spot. Within a week or two such 
progress was made in clearing the city, that here and 
there rebuilding operations were commenced. Mont Pelee 
was still smoking, but it was believed that it had spent 
its fury. 

The first person to attempt a visit to the mountain 
itself was M. Clerc, a member of the Colonial Legislature. 
With him went M. Chancele, chief engineer of the sugar 
works, which had been one of the first things in the island 
to be overwhelmed. It was the 23rd of May when 
this plucky pair set off on their round of exploration, 
about a fortnight after the worst period of the eruptions. 
Gradually the two men approached the foot of the 
mountain, and, in spite of difficulties and dangers, they 
managed to reach a height of nearly four thousand feet. 
From their position they were able to get a good view 
of the principal crater, and it appeared to be three or 
four hundred yards across. The hole was not on the 
summit of the mountain, but some little way down 
the side. Overhanging the crater was the peak itself, 
which would, of course, have afforded a still better view ; 
but it had been so undermined and eaten away, that 
it seemed likely at any moment to crumble into dust and 
fall into the abyss below. 

The heat was still intense, and every drop of water 
had disappeared from the district. A large pond which 
had been there was found to be completely dried up. 
The air seemed to be full of electricity; indeed, the 

326 



A HASTY RETREAT 

electric commotions were everywhere and almost un- 
ceasing. Stones and ashes fell constantly, and large pieces 
of sulphur were mixed with the stones. Nothing could 
well be more appalling than the aspect of the country 
around. The former state of the mountain and its 
surroundings had been sufficiently indicated by its name 
— pelee, or " peeled,'" for Mont Pelee means the " bare 
mountain." More than ever did the volcanic peak now 
deserve its appellation. Far and wide was naught but 
a scene of desolation. 

As the explorers were looking on, the crater suddenly 
began to be more active, and showers of stones and hot 
ashes were shot up into the air. It was necessary to 
beat a retreat at once, leaving all specimens and every- 
thing that they had gathered behind. Their flight was 
both difficult and dangerous, and they might well have 
paid the penalty of their curiosity, as did Pliny of old, 
on the occasion of the memorable eruption of Vesuvius 
in the first century of our era. The rain of ashes was 
blinding, and it was only by the greatest good fortune 
that the two men got away safe from the mountain. 
Even when they supposed themselves out of danger a 
great stone fell close to M. Chancele, and he narrowly 
escaped being crushed under it. The fate of St. Pierre 
in the year 1902 resembled in many ways that of Pompeii 
in a.d. 79, when it was overwhelmed by the disastrous 
eruption of Vesuvius. Both cities were mainly destroyed by 
hot ashes. In both cases the suddenness of the catastrophe 
prevented the escape of the inhabitants. It is worth 
noting, too, that the story of Mont Pelee bears a remark- 

327 



ST. PIERRE LIKE POMPEII 

able resemblance to that of Vesuvius in 1872, as those 
readers who have perused Chapter XXIII. of this volume 
will hardly have failed to observe. The main features 
of the outburst were similar, both in their nature and 
in the order of their occurrence. 



THE END 



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